In your eyes
by pajamas on my hearts
Summary: After becoming a Kunoichi, Kaori is ready to accept the hardships of a ninja, but even she is having difficulty balancing all of it with the other teenage issues and her newfound crush on Kiba. It's just becoming hectic. A few oc's here and there. Kibaxoc
1. Introductions

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

_Blah _= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

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**Ninja Academy/Normal POV:**

Amakusu Kaori gulped as she stood in the line of students; all were waiting for their turn at the review test that was given thanks to Uzumaki Naruto. She toyed with her braided hair as she held in her own groans.

'_That idiot! I'm going to kill him!' _She thought crossly, anger waves radiating toward the ramen-loving loudmouth. She was normally a sort-of quiet girl, but her classmates knew what she felt about tests… especially ones that they had already gone over. Although her true feelings at the moment were anything but pleasant, she held up a serene facade.

'_No. Death is much too lenient. Mutilation is key.'_

"Kaori," Iruka called. "Can you please hurry up?" She looked up to see that she was at the front now. She nodded towards Iruka-sensei who impatiently motioned for her to do the _henge, _or the transformation technique.

Kaori fought her own frown from revealing as she walked forward, still peeved. "Oh, I'm sorry!" She gave a moment to inhale sharply, letting the air pass through her diaphragm. "Henge!" She said before immediately making the hand seal, and with a poof, transformed into a spitting image of Iruka-sensei. He nodded in approval, and scribbled something onto his clipboard. After a few more students he looked up once more. "Alright Naruto. Let's see what you can do."

Kaori took her time going to her seat, after chatting politely with the remaining tested students and tripping on the steps a little, she finally made it back to her seat. She glanced at Hyuuga Hinata and knew that she was wishing the blonde luck. She felt a grin creep up and looked back at Naruto. _'I wonder how he's going to do. Knowing him, this is probably gonna be something weird.' _She bit her cheek, twirling the strands of hair that had escaped her black braids.

"Henge!" Naruto shouted and Kaori saw a wave of chakra whirling around him and in a poof of smoke he turned into… a naked lady.

Two big waterfalls of blood gushed thickly out of the teacher's nose. And Kaori herself had actually fallen out of her seat, choking on her own saliva in shock. _'T-that PERVERT!'_

"Ha! How was that! I call it my Seduction Jutsu!" Naruto grinned proudly. Snickering himself at how much of a K.O he'd given their academy instructor.

"You idiot! Don't invent such stupid techniques!" Iruka's roared, his head ten times bigger than normal. "You'll never pass the genin test!"

Kaori sighed, considering this.

Knowing Naruto, he'd probably pass one way or the other.

She chuckled softly. "Hinata-chan's probably praying for him right now, better not be wasted effort."

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**Teashop/After School & training/Normal Pov:**

"Oji-san. May I have some dango please?" Kaori called up to the teashop owner, who tried to fake a look of annoyance at her appearance.

The man came in clearer view, standing over the small table she currently occupied. "Why are you here? In fact, how are you going to compensate for the last few meals you forgot to pay?" He demanded, getting straight to the point as he crossed his arms, well, crossly.

She winced._ 'Ooh. Forgot again.' _She dug around her pockets frantically. "Of course! Sorry, I got my money right here!" She gave him a big wad of bills. Cringing at the visible amount she had lost.

The man inspected it closely. "This is only half." He deadpanned, rolling his eyes as he remembered how she even got into the situation in the first place. For a girl who doesn't even need to eat, she's not very smart.

She pouted and tossed him another big wad. "Great. I'm broke now. Happy?"

"Immensely." The twenty or thirty-something year old replied, counting the money lazily and showing the ninja-to-be no mind. "But you can still buy five more skewers of o-dango." He said with a crinkly-eyed smiled.

Kaori's face lit up. "Really? Then five O-dango sticks please!"

The man sighed visibly. "Aren't you at least a little worried about diabetes or something, you crazy sugar-maniac? You don't even need to eat in the first place, monster."

She frowned. "I'm eating these for uhh, tr…aining… Yeah…? Yeah. Yeah! The sugar, it fuels my chakra system, yes. Chakra. Exactly." Although normally a sufficient liar, she was struggling to think up a reasonable excuse after being caught so off guard. "Don't you want me to be a strong ninja, Ji-chan? Protect the village? Do missions? Explore? You should be proud you even know me before I become a hero!"

"I swear I've heard this before."

"Don't you have anything to do? Like cooking? For customers? Stop being lazy! I could give you a bad rating! I'm already deducting you for bad customer service!"

"Hai hai, I'll give you some tea, maybe it'll reduce _some_ risk." He said as he walked out behind the counter, exaggerating his weariness.

She shrugged. "Gee, thanks!"

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Hey!! Thanks for checking out the story!! I know things aren't going great since it's the first chapter and all, so sorry! I'll keep trying to do better until it's actually something worth reading! So on to words and meanings!

_Ama_ means sweet (it's in her last name. Don't confuse it with Ame, which is rain or candy)

_Kusuri _is medicine, but I shortened it to _kusu._

_Kaori _means fragrance

_Odangos _are rice cake on a stick with some sweet sauce on it- really good. Trust me.

_Oji-san _Is uncle or… sir, I guess. It often gets confused with Ojii-san, which is grandpa, but that one 'i' makes a lot of difference

**Anyways, Pleeeeeeeease revieeeeeeeeeew!!! Is it good? Is it bad? Is it terrible? How did you like it? Well, if you also have any ideas or thoughts on it, please SHARE!!!**

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	2. Not a ninken! An Inuzuka dog!

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

_Blah _= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

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**Park/After teashop/Normal POV:**

Kaori was found sitting on the bench in a nearby park, taking a break from practicing her recently learned techniques (bunshin, henge, kawarimi, the works).

It was sunny, but that fact had gone unnoticed as the girl instead (uncharacteristically) imagined horrible what-if situations. Tomorrow was the day of the final exams. If she passes, she could graduate the academy and become a genin, an official ninja. If she fails, she'd have to retake that year with underclassmen.

But at this point, the last thing she was doing was concentrating.

"Should I keep eating? Or should I save some for later?" Kaori pondered intensely, already bored of the previous activity as she stared at her two remaining skewers of dango in deep thought, forgetting for a moment that she had training to do.

"I want to finish these off so badly, but what if I want to eat them later? But then they'll get all hard and yucky." She considered. But then again, if you have enough stress to fuss about food, how petty could you be... if you're not Chouji?

"Argh! So hard to choose!" She almost wailed, pulling her braids in frustration over this simplistic, and completely meaningless dilemma.

Kaori paused, opening eyes from their clenched state, momentarily distracted. _'You know, I could've sworn I heard something…'_

"Arf! Arf!" Kaori jumped. She looked to the left and to her right, as she tried to find the source of the noise. Her gaze lowered to her feet and she saw an innocent looking white puppy gazing up at her, wagging its little tail.

She stared at it for a while, face blank as her mind registered the scene, and then asked in realization. "Mm? You're Inuzuka's dog, aren't you?"

The reason for the pause being how said clan member would always skip class with Naruto and others, keeping her from really giving him much mind.

Tail wags.

She squinted her eyes at its expression. "Ohh, I know your name. Umm, Aotarou...? Kiirosuke? No… it was red something… Aka… Ah, Aka… maru?" She nodded enthusiastically, seeing she was right.

"Akamaru? Are you lost?" She asked, and blinked when she saw it nod and wag its tail in reply. She definitely hadn't been expecting that kind of response-- or any response for that matter. She picked him up, scratching his belly as he wagged his tail in pleasure.

"You're so cute!_"_ She couldn't help but exclaim. "It's almost like you're smiling at me!"

She cocked her head. "But you know, I was kind of expecting a purr though-- or is that a cat thing?" She furrowed her brow, showing her obvious lack of experience with dogs. She gave a squeak when she noticed the bundle of fur reaching for her snacks.

"Wait! Dog!" She struggled to part the two. "No! Akamaru! Stop! Ack! Bad dog!" She paused. _'Can dogs even eat odangos…?"_

"Ah! What do you think you're doing, Akamaru?"

Kaori looked up to see the Inuzuka from her class-- Kiba, running up to her in full speed. He stopped in front of her, slightly panting.

"Akamaru! What are you doing here?" He asked, carefully picking the puppy out of Kaori's arms, scolding it fiercely as the dog barked back.

He turned his attention toward the girl, who simply stared at this peculiar scene. _'Are they really having a conversation?'_ She thought curiously. _'I've always wanted to talk to animals…'_

"Ah, Kaori! Thanks for taking care of him! The rascal was trying to run from a bath. I hope he wasn't bothering you too much!" He laughed and gave her a polite, but still rather wolfish grin.

She shrugged, but stared curiously at the boy. _'Eh? I barely even know him and we're already on a first-name basis? … I-I can't tell if he's being friendly or disrespectful.' _

There was a twitter of slight annoyance on his face over her still-delayed response. "Hey, are you okay? Hello? Ninja?"

She snapped out of her trance. "Ah, gomen, Inuzuka-san! I-I kind of zoned out for a moment." She looked around and saw the dango skewers in her hand. "You want one?" She offered, holding a stick up in apology.

He shrugged. "Is it still chewy?"

"Eh? Er, yeah."

"Sure."

He sat down next to her on the bench as they ate their sweets in awkward silence. Kaori looked at him and noticed Kiba still sniffing it.

"Honestly, I have nothing against what you're doing, but I still think those were made to be eaten." She started as an icebreaker, hating the empty pause that surrounded them. _'If they're going to sit there, they might as well say something!' _She continued. "But I agree they smell nice."

She frowned when he simply nodded. She knew how outgoing the Inuzuka normally was in contrast to the silent persona right now. _'It's not like I asked him to stay anyways! If he's really that bored then leave!'_

"Ne, Inuzuka-san? Aren't you supposed to be, err, loud?" '_And cocky.' _"And cocky?"

She paused, eyes wide. _'Did I just say that out loud? Shit.'_

Instead Kiba smirked. "Smartass." He gave a snort. "And aren't you supposed to be quiet and polite?"

She gave a sorry smile, letting him take that one. Kaori watched as he gave part of his sweets to Akamaru after biting two off the stick at once.

She bit her cheek. "I thought dogs weren't supposed to eat those." She started, knowing that if she talked about dogs he wouldn't seem so uninterested. "He doesn't seem to enjoy them." She added, when she saw the dog sneeze, chewing awkwardly on the strange 'treat'.

He looked up at the sudden reappearance of a discussion, and said with his mouth full. "Oh, he's fine. He needed to pay for running away in the first place, dirty thing. But as long as he doesn't eat too much he'll be fine. He's an Inuzuka dog after all."

"Ah, I see. So… is it difficult to have a nin-ken?" The girl asked, surprised that she was showing genuine interest.

"_Inuzuka _dogs_." _

"Excuse me?"

"They are not summons and have been purely bred to be an Inuzuka. Therefore, they are Inuzukadogs."

"Oh _sorry. _I mean, your _Inuzuka dog_."

"Damn yes you do."

She sighed. Wanting to stop this. "So is it difficult to have an Inuzuka dog, Inuzuka Kiba-san?"

"Nah, not really." Kiba said proudly, glad to have an audience. "For us, it's actually easier. We're always training together so we know everything there is about each other. We're both really strong… Or it might be that we're just talented."

"Heh… That must be nice… You guys are probably never lonely." Kaori said wistfully, purposely ignoring his last sentence in fear she might accidentally slip in another half-assed remark. She stared up at the reddish sky. "I'm jealous…"

Kiba glanced at her from the corner of his eye and sucked in his pride reluctantly. "So what do you do? I mean, you should have to have your own personal fighting style as a ninja, right?"

She closed her eyes. "Not yet. My mom tries to train me as a medical ninja, cause you know our clan kind of specializes in healing-- Or you didn't know… Whatever, it's really boring so you're lucky. Anyways, I have to suck it up. I mean, I've got to be able to do something, right?" She frowned. "And considering the fact that we're already born with enhanced healing, how's that going to help _me?"_

Kiba considered this, pondering curiously. "Wait, but can't the Amakusu clan give and take peoples' chakra or something like that?"

Kaori nodded begrudgingly. "You mean chakra irrigation and replenishment? Well yeah, I guess that's cool. But I'm still a beginner so I can only release chakra. Besides that's not exactly within the clan and I've heard other people can do it too, so I can't call it my own. My mom tries to teach me all she knows, which isn't much since she hasn't been to the compound in years." Kaori smiled grimly. "I've never been to the compound myself; they probably don't even know I exist. Pathetic, right?"

The Inuzuka frowned, not used to seeing such low self-esteem compared to his own rather high amount of confidence. "Nah, it's not pathetic, really. It's still a good start… Akamaru agrees too." Kiba smiled awkwardly, Akamaru barked in response. "See, it's not bad at all, Kaori!"

She stared, feeling a smile creep up. The last statement was meant to be rhetorical, but she felt her heart flutter, making her feel both shocked and touched despite knowing it was all pity. She blushed. "A-Arigatou, Inuzuka-kun. Akamaru-kun. You guys are pretty nice after all." She giggled and took a huge bite from her snack, chewing it thoughtfully.

"Oh yeah, and Kaori? Since we're pretty much friends now, you can stop calling me by my surname." Kiba said harmlessly, still gazing up at the sky. He paused when he heard coughing and choking. He looked down to see new friend suffocating. "What the hell! Are you okay! Oi! What's wrong with you? Breathe!"

She let out a strangled wheeze and gasped. "I'm fine! I'm fine!"

Kiba felt a sweat drop glistening on his head as he pondered, _'How many accidents can she cause in one day?' _He scoffed._ 'Ninja, my ass.'_

"Thanks though. I really appreciate it, Kiba-san." She smiled shyly, playing with her stray hair abashedly.

He grinned. "No problem! Um, you know. You can train with us sometimes. I could show you my kick-ass sweet moves! As repayment, cause you caught Akamaru and gave us food. After all, anyone would feel thankful to even be asked to train with the awesome Inuzuka Kiba-sama! We don't mind!" Kiba offered, excited to show off, he paused. "That is, if you want to, I mean."

She considered this. "Sure, why not? Ah, but not today. I have to report some info to my mom. And… Ack! We have to prepare for the final exams tomorrow!" She realized, noticing how the sky had darkened considerably.

"Aw shit! We forgot about that too." Kiba cried, standing up. "We've gotta train!" He crinkled his nose and sneezed at his white bundle of fur. "And you're _bath!_ Ugh!"

Kaori giggled and stood up. "I guess I'll go now. It was nice knowing you, Kiba-san." She grinned.

She took a step to the right, but failed to notice a small rock that stood in her path. When she tripped over it, she crossed her other leg over that foot in an attempt to keep her steady, but ended up twirling a 360 before falling with a _thud, _sitting criss-crossed on the ground with her rump also landing painfully on the stone itself. "Oh, ow! OW!"

Kiba saw all this, of course, and immediately bent over. "KRMMFF! _Cough cough! _Dude, are you- _bwa ha ha ha ha_- ahem!_ Cough cough!"_

She still sat there, stunned, her mind was still processing over what just happened.

"Sorry! -_hehe! _Are you okay?" Kiba stammered, as he offered her a hand while covering his mouth with the back of the other one, making an effort not to laugh openly as he turned to hide his traitorous grin.

Kaori sat there with her legs still criss-crossed, well aware of his take on all this. She folded her arms and bit her lip in self-annoyance, but in the end, accepted his offer. She pulled herself up, and mumbled thanks.

"Hehe, this time I'm really going to go now." Kaori coughed, covering up her embarrassment with an exit.

"Okay, watch where you're going this time, ninja." Kiba warned, a chuckle escaping his lips.

"I'm not even going to respond."

Kiba snickered.

She glared and pursed her lip, flushing back at him indignantly, unaware of the fact that she was truly pouting. Kiba took this all in before holding up his hands in defense, finding himself smiling fondly at the girl in front of him. _'She's too cute to be a ninja. She'd have a better career as a child-impersonator.'_ Again, he laughed.

"Okay, okay. We're done now." He assured. "Sorry about that, I couldn't help myself… Enough with that face!"

She gave him one last look before calming down.

Kaori smiled brightly. "Alright, then I'm going now." She said, getting ready to sprint. "It was nice knowing you, Kiba-san-- and you too, Akamaru-kun! You guys better pass if you want to be genin!"

"Don't need you to tell us that! You follow your own advice too!"

"Of course!" She began her leave. "_Ja mata ne_." And jogged out of sight.

"Looks like we made a new friend, ne Akamaru? Heh, she was hilarious!" Kiba frowned and he sniffed again, wrinkling his nose. "Well, c'mon! We've got training to do and a washing on your part! Don't you even think about running away this time!"

The dog gave a whimper when he got picked up. Knowing that there was no escape from his fate this time.

(A/N: Baum, baum, BAUM)

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**Afterwards/Kaori's POV:**

Once Kiba was out of sight, I ran, ran all the way home and made a dash for the trees in our yard. I stood in front of a great thick oak and started bashing my head over and over against its trunk.

'_That was so embarrassing! I can't believe I fell like that! How am I supposed to look at him? He's probably going to tell everyone! Why am I such a klutz? I'm an idiot! That's what I am! A total IDIOT.' _I wailed, mourned, grieved, etc, as I replayed the events in my head.

I calmed down (after a few more seconds of head beatings) and finally walked inside the door. "_Tadaimasu!" _I announced, slipping off my sandals before walking down the halls.

My mother came from the kitchen to the front door, where I was taking my shoes off. "_Okaeri! _Eh? Kaori? Is everything all right?" She asked, concerned. Studying the cuts that were already healing. "Are you being bullied?" She was almost done checking me and by then I was all healed.

Enhanced healing, see.

"No, I just came back from training!" I gave a sheepish grin; the last person who I'd want to have found out is probably my mother. Whether it's laughing or scolding, I didn't need either.

"Yeah, I just felt like working extra hard because of the exams." I chirped.

My mother sighed in relief. "Then do you want eat? Just for the fun of it?" I shook my head.

Because our body naturally heals and supplies itself, we don't really have the need to eat as the average human would need to. We eventually do at some point, but the need is very small. The only time I'm ever eating these days is when I'm bored, or just because I love tasting things. Yum.

After reassuring her that things were great, she accepted that everything was fine. "Clean up then, but don't take too long. I want to teach you something." My mother smiled and walked back to the kitchen. Medical stuff. Just endure, Kaori!

'_I'm gonna have to take a really long shower tonight.' _I sighed inwardly, but forced another grin and nodded obediently. "Yes, Kaa-san." And thumped toward the bathroom, I heard my mom sigh. "I can't believe she's graduating tomorrow."

---Afterwards---

After my shower I walked into my room, shutting the door behind me as I looked around.

My room was pretty basic and it had a simple bed pushed to a corner, plain sheets, a desk with a tiny lamp, a nightstand that had a huge first aid kit to practice with (you call that a birthday present, mother?), my closet full of clothes, and bookcases (which had several scrolls and information that I hadn't bothered to look through). I looked at my reflection in the mirror. Nothing seemed to have changed, but I felt… different.

"Tomorrow," I thought out loud, still studying my reflection. "I will graduate. Everyone's going to be a genin. Kiba, Hinata, Sasuke, everyone, maybe even Naruto! I can't believe it." I smiled.

Since I'm growing up, I guess I should try a bit harder from now on. I have to do whatever it takes to improve.

"Okaa-san! What were you going to teach me?"

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**YAY!!! Second chapter and we're already getting somewhere!! I hope that chapter cleared out some questions from the last author's note. **

_Gomen_ means sorry

_Hai_ means yes

_Ja mata ne _= See you! (Girls version)

_Tadaimasu_ means I'm back

_Okaeri_ means you're here

**Anyways, how about a review? Please? It would be most appreciated!**


	3. Graduation!

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

_Blah _= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

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**The Next day/6:35am/Normal POV:**

_"Gooooooood mooooooooooorningggggggggg sunshiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine~!_ --" BAM!

Kaori grumbled and cursed as she drew her arm back under her cozy covers, she had the most annoying alarm clock in the world, and was never happy to be awake in the first place.

She peeked open an eye to look at the time, ignoring the new dent. 6:35 am. Five minutes until the genin exams.

"Mweh, I don't want to wake up." She groaned. "Bleh…" She closed her eyes, waiting for sleep to overtake her when her eyes widened in realization.

"_Five minutes?_ Aiiii! I'm gonna be late!"

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Please give me more time!" She prayed, fumbling into her clothes. She ran into the bathroom.

"Kaori!" Her mother called anxiously, "Are you awake?"

"Ah'm Brushingh mah teeth!"

"Hurry up, then!"

Kaori spit out the mass of foam and saliva. "Okay!" She finished plaiting her hair into her trademark braids. (A/N: braiding your hair and brushing your teeth at the same time is something only an experienced ninja can do!)

She thumped downstairs, and was now struggling to get her shoes on.

Her mother came up to the front door. "Are you sure you have everything?" she asked, dubious.

"Yes!" She said in between each violent tug on her sandals, rolling around from the huge effort.

"All right then. Good luck, honey." Amakusu Kana sighed, already heading back to the kitchen. "Oh, and it might be easier to put on your shoes if you put them on the correct feet, daughter." She added.

Kaori looked down. Her left shoe was on her right foot, and likewise with the other. "Oh." She put her shoes on correctly, noticing how easily her feet slipped in. "_I-Itekimasu!" _She muttered hastily, running out with a tint of rouge still visible on her cheeks.

Once outside with the building out of view she paused to whine. "Okaa-san…! That's the first thing you should've said!" Her mother made no means of hearing her daughter and Kaori continued to sprint towards the academy building.

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**Academy/Genin test/Normal POV:**

"E-Excuse me!" Kaori shouted, as she slid the door open violently. She took a moment to catch her breath and cringed upon looking up. She had interrupted Iruka-sensei's announcement and anger veins began popping comically onto his head. Kaori was already pretty rosy from her marathon run, but she turned redder still.

"Just take a seat." Iruka-sensei ordered, deciding to be lenient on what could hopefully be her last day. "Hai." She muttered meekly, she looked around. No one dared to be absent for the genin test, so it was hard to find a place to sit. She took a small step, but had unfortunately slipped on the stairs that the classroom floors were made of. They were pretty far apart from each other, but she hit every single step until she reached the bottom. Back where she started. "Oww!!" She yelped as the whole class laughed, glad to have something to focus on instead of the frightening exams. Kaori's face was practically glowing bright red and she could hear Kiba hooting as well.

"Is that the last of your disturbance, or is there more to come?" Iruka asked, now struggling to hold in his temper.

She shrunk, ashamed. "G-Gomenasai! I-It won't happen again."

"Fine, now take a seat- or at least make an _attempt _to." He scolded, the class laughed again at the joke.

"Hai…" She hid her face behind her bangs, but the fiery redness still showed clearly in contrast to her peachy skin tone. She looked around for a seat and winced when she noticed the only one was beside Kiba.

She smiled bravely and sat down. "Ohayo, Kiba-san! Akamaru-kun! Err… you guys didn't tell anyone about yesterday, right? Because it's kind of, um, embarrassing." She whispered, referring to the _other_ dramatic spill the night before.

Her only response was a smirk and a happy bark from Akamaru. She frowned, remembering that Kiba was known for having a pretty big ego (and for frequently ditching class), he probably told his friends already. She sighed, thinking of possible scenario responses for later confrontations. She blinked when she saw the Inuzuka give her a reassuring wink. Kaori exhaled and smiled sunnily. _'That idiot! Making me worry!' _

"As I was saying, we will now start the final exams." Iruka announced to the class of eager students. "If your name is called, come to the classroom next door. The subject will be a _bunshin no jutsu, _the replication technique._"_

Kaori turned her head toward Naruto, who was looking devastated. She winced sympathetically. Everyone knew about his disability to create a doppelganger. She took a peek at Kiba. _'He seems confident; so he'll most likely pass. I'm pretty sure that I have a positive chance on passing too… Please!' _

"Kaori! Kaori! He said you're up!" Kiba hissed. Said girl looked up startled, as her thoughts were unexpectedly interrupted. She saw Iruka-sensei, who was waiting impatiently for her to start. She stood up, "Ack! Gomenasai!" She quickly stepped up, but staggered for a moment, practically falling on Kiba before he pushed her upright. _'That would've been bad!'_ She thought as she gave Kiba a sorry smile before stepping out the door to take her genin test in the next classroom.

Kaori stepped up to the front, concentrating hard in order to get the jutsu right. She took a breath, and made the seal. Feeling the chakra coursing through her body. "Bunshin no jutsu!"

She heard a poof and saw a cloud of smoke next to her. She stared intently, after the smoke had faded, she saw 3 mirror images of herself, all waving cheerfully at Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei.

She did it. She had successfully recreated her own image.

"Hmm… you did a pretty good job. They look exactly like you!" Mizuki-sensei smiled. "Congratulations! I think you definitely deserve the title genin!"

Kaori laughed happily, unable to form actual words due to her excitement. She 'poof'ed away the duplicates, and ran up to the front desk to collect her forehead protector. Already fitting the cloth onto her head. She looked at her reflection in the window and jumped for joy. She racked through her brains for the proper words, but all that came out was a "YESS!!!" Causing the other two to laugh. It was only after she bowed that she left to head back to the classroom.

She stopped outside the door and took a deep breath in order to regain posture. Once she was calm, she stepped inside, though she knew it was impossible for her to hide the relieved smile on her face, especially when eyes were on her and her new accessory. A sense of pride came over her and she resisted the urge to flaunt, as the class was already pretty wild (there wasn't a teacher to watch over them). But almost right away, a few classmates crowded around her wanting answers, as she was the first girl to go. (A/N: her last name starts with an A for Amakusu)

"C-congratulations, K-K-Kaori-chan!" Hinata stuttered sweetly, she blushed. Hoping no one noticed how much her speech impediment worsened from the pressure of the test.

"Yay! You passed Kaori!" Sakura smiled, enveloping her into a friendly hug. She frowned. "Go away Ino-pig. You're already killing the mood just by being here."

The blonde hadn't heard, thankfully, or she would have burst into rage. "It wasn't hard, was it?" She asked, as she had the pleasure of waiting anxiously till the end since her surname started with a Yamanaka _Ya_.

"Heh, are you scared, Ino-pig?" Sakura taunted. "We all know you won't be able to pass, so there's no point in all that worrying!"

"Urusai, Forehead girl! I'm worried that you're going to be humiliated when you and Naruto are the only ones who'll fail!" Ino retorted hotly.

Hinata flinched, already praying in her mind for Naruto to prove Ino wrong.

'_Why'd they have to drag Naruto into this?'_ Kaori sighed. _'I'm already tired of everyone talking like this.'_

In fact, she didn't exactly get why people hated him. Sure, he was incredibly annoying at times, but that couldn't really be everything. _'There are other people who are just as annoying as him. A lot of them are even worse, actually. So what exactly is their problem?' _

They weren't in the least bit friends- in fact she didn't really care to know more about the Uzumaki, but she couldn't help but be curious. Her attention was too soon forced out of her thoughts.

"What did you say?" Sakura had roared.

"You heard me Billboard Brow!" Ino screamed, just as loud.

"Guys! Please stop fighting already!" Kaori scolded, annoyed that she really couldn't hear in one ear. "Can you please save it after school? I don't think now's a good moment to fight. I mean, are you sure you can't just, I don't know… talk it out or something?" She suggested, ignoring the eyes that were on their small group. Hinata, she noted, was really uncomfortable. Kaori hid a frown. They were supposed to be admiring _her_!

"Oh right, sorry." They muttered in unison, somewhat ashamed, but not really. Kaori sighed, not wanting to push it, and walked over to her seat… Or at least attempted to, when she tripped over Ino's foot. She reacted of course, not wanting to fall flat on her face, so she fell into an awkward somersault and after rolling frenziedly around the place, finally crashed at the front desk with a loud _Bang! _She sat up, sore and dizzy. The class was laughing again, but she was too lightheaded to really care at the moment.

The girls ran over to her and helped her up. "I'm so sorry! Are you okay?" Ino cried. "It's all forehead's fault! She was in my way!"

"_Uso! _That's an outright lie, Ino-pig!"

"Don't worry!" Kaori assured, her words slurred from a vertigo moment. "It's no one's fault but mine. D-Don't worry, it won't happen again! B-By tomorrow, I'm going to be too good of a ninja to trip on anything!" She said, sure of herself.

"Uhh…"

Kaori, now recovered, frowned at their doubt. "I will! Just you watch!" She pouted, falling back into her seat with a "Humph!" She crossed her arms, and bit her lip again as she turned to look out the window.

"Do you have to trip on everything?" Kaori raised her head at the question, knowing that it was Kiba who had spoken. She glared at his cheeky expression.

"Go away!" She sulked, blushing when she noted that he was usually present in a lot of her embarrassing moments.

"Sorry. I can't because this is my seat, which means I sit here. Second, it's not my turn to take the test, so I have to wait here. And third, a lot of funny things happen around you. Therefore, since there is nothing left to do except bother you and watch, that's exactly what I'm going to do." Kiba replied cheerfully, as if it was that obvious.

"Well, you're… you're just a big meanie!" She snapped. "So Nyeh!" She stuck her tongue out. "From now on I'm talking to Akamaru, cause you're just a big… p… p-poophead!" She added immaturely, and held Akamaru close to her.

This time, Kiba sighed at the utter childishness. "You honestly call yourself a ninja?" He sneered. _'Meanie? Poophead? Ha, she's such a kid!' _

Kaori just glared, turning away. "Did you hear something, Akamaru-kun?" She asked the confused puppy, her eye twitching as she fought to ignore the owner.

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Okay, I'll stop." He assured. "I'm gonna end up laughing to death at this rate!"

"Don't you think someone should close the window, Akamaru-kun? I keep hearing these strange noises! It sounds like this annoying mosquito-thing is trying to get my attention!" Kaori said, raising her voice to block out the dog owner. Kiba popped a vein; it wasn't hard to figure out that he was starting to get annoyed.

"Give him back!" He demanded.

"Someone please close the window!"

"Grr… Akamaru! Kill her! Bite her! Pee on her!"

"Arf?"

"See, he likes me better!"

"You're talking to me now!"

"Erk! Sh-shut up!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**After Academy/On the way to the tea shop/ Kaori's POV:**

After school, I was on my way to the teashop. I couldn't wait to tell the old man about the graduation. Of course I was going to tell my mother, but if I came to her first she would cling onto me and never let me out of the house.

I couldn't risk that.

I was also pleased that Kiba and I had surprisingly become friendlier towards each other. Sure, he was nice to me yesterday, but the moment was awkward and we had kept our distance. Today, I guess we were close enough to tease and joke around. I myself was proud of this achievement. It felt natural hanging out with him, which is what you're supposed to feel when you're with a close friend. Therefore, Kiba was kind of my friend, in a way. I was always up for new buddies- even if that included a self-centered prankster.

"Oi! Kaori! Wait up!" I spun around to see Kiba and Akamaru jogging up to me. _Oh!_ "Hey!" He greeted, once he caught up.

"Hi! What's up… Akamaru-kun?" I asked, continuing my walk.

Kiba gave a chuckle. "Hey, we called a truce, remember?"

Oh, right. We did.

"I was just kidding, Kiba-san!" I coughed, going straight for the topic change. "So what is the first thing you're going to do now that you're an official shinobi_?_" I asked.

"Hmm…" He looked up, thoughtful. "I think Akamaru and I are gonna go home and celebrate, I guess."

I nodded, thinking deeply as well before smiling brightly. "But can you believe it? We all passed the test! We're genins! Official ninjas! We're all going to get our new teammates on Monday!" I squealed, prancing happily.

"Everybody except Naruto, that is." Kiba added.

I stopped jumping, frowning. "Yeah… that's right. I thought he could've passed this time. Maybe he'll pass the next one?" I added unsurely.

"Maybe." Kiba replied. Realizing how much he had ruined the mood, he continued. "Umm… well, do you think we're going to be on the same team though?"

"Hmm… maybe. But then again, we could be teamed up with anybody." I replied thoughtfully-- or obviously. '_Stupid!!_'

"Yup, it makes me excited! I can't wait." Kiba grinned. He didn't seem to notice my folly. "Don't you think so Akamaru?" The canine replied with a bark himself.

I smiled, "Same here!" I stopped walking and looked up when my house came in view. "Oh no."

"Hmm? What is it?" Kiba asked, and looked up as well. "What's wrong? This _is _where you live, isn't it?"

I winced when I saw the curtain move in one of the windows. "She saw me…" I reached a hand up to my newly received forehead protector, and groaned. "How troublesome." I mumbled, not realizing that I was quoting a certain Nara.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Kiba demanded, still confused. Akamaru gave an impatient bark.

I smiled when I noticed just how much I was exaggerating and stretched. "Nothing really, my mom's just one of those overprotective clingy types. After seeing my new headband, she'll never let me out of the house." _'And after seeing you.'_ I added, exasperation showing itself again. _'Or any guy for that matter.'_

Damn it all…

Kiba-san nodded, and grinned sheepishly. "I see. Hehe, sorry! I guess we gave you an early curfew."

I shrugged. "It's nothing. I wasn't really going to do much anyways." I opened the door and stepped inside. "Do you want to come in?" I asked, feeling awkward about the way he had just walked me to my house.

"Nah, we're fine. We got a lot of things to do anyways." Kiba answered, Akamaru gave a woof. "Hey! Do you wanna train or something tomorrow?" he asked casually, grinning brightly before continuing. "After all, you _do_ owe me from falling on me before!"

I twitched. Is he talking about that time in class? I didn't actually-! "That was an almost, you liar!"

"Yeah, thanks to me!" He retorted, instantly winning with the true statement.

I pouted. I was never big on losing, especially with Kiba smirking like that. I was going to accept anyway! "Mm, fine. I guess I have time…" I smiled. "Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow then!"

He just held up a hand as he walked away. Shutting the door, I closed my eyes and chuckled. "Che, was that supposed to be cool or something?"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Sooooo, how was that chapter? I hope it's not confusing anyone or anything like that. What do you think about it so far? Reviewwww!!!**

_Itekimasu _means I'm leaving

_Uso _means Lies

_Mendokuse _means How Troublesome


	4. You have got to be kidding me

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

_Blah _= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Next Day/Sunday/Sparring/Kaori's POV:**

It was a beautiful Sunday evening. It was especially nice because I was seriously kicking some Inuzuka ass. Whoo!

See, since tomorrow is the 'Super ninja awesome happy friends day unite!' as we had affectionately dubbed, (or at least, I did. Kiba said it was undignified. The _nerve_ of him!) Kiba and I decided to squeeze in some time to train. We kind of wanted to shape up a bit more before we got grouped up. After all, what if we were paired with someone like _Uchiha Sasuke? _Even though Kiba refused to admit it, we didn't really look as great in comparison.

"Heh, you're pretty good, Kaori!" One of the two Kibas grinned. Akamaru had taken Kiba's form using what he called the_ Jujin Bunshin, _or the human beast clone, and both were panting heavily.

I smiled. Equally tired and I fumbled with my kunai, as it was slippery with sweat. I resisted the urge to rub it off to concentrate on the fight. Which I thought showed my dedication as a ninja before remembering that sweat wasn't a big deal in the ninja world when you're fighting for your life.

Sigh.

"Thanks, you're not so bad yourself… for a dog."

"Hey now! That was unnecessary!" He protested, genuinely offended. "Grr! Get ready to eat your words!"

We all jumped and attacked once more. Which was difficult for me because of the unfair two on one thing going on, I had to kill them off one at a time (which isn't exactly easy since, as stated before, it _is_ two against one).

I jumped again, feinting a stab to Kiba 1's side, but Kiba 2 grabbed my wrist to prevent this. In return, I twisted sideways and kicked him square in the stomach. He flew with a painful "Oof!" and crashed into a tree. I gave a triumphant grin, and got ready to attack number 1, when there was this big "Poof!" behind me, and in Kiba 2's place was a log. _'A replacement! Where did they get the time for that? And number one's gone as well. Then where are they?'_

"Kiba-san! Where are you?" I called out, licking my dry lips in sheer anticipation. "I never knew you were so cheap!"

"I'm right behind you!" I heard vicious growling and turned to see the both of them in offense-mode. They looked very scary as Kiba started looking more and more barbaric. "Gatsuuga!" One shouted, and they turned into whirling cyclones, both making their way towards me. I braced myself for the attack, wincing, as I stood in defense mode.

… But it never came.

At first glance, anyone could realize that it must have been a newly learned jutsu, which meant that Kiba-san hadn't mastered it yet. They went out of control and hit everything but me.

I stared horrified at the damage being made. Full trees were splintering, rocks getting uprooted, and the ground was cracking. The two were constantly in motion, making me feel scared and disoriented.

They must realize that they were putting too much spin in their attacks. Although they knew my location by smell, even they couldn't top the law of inertia. Their centrifugal force was too great and they could not stop or decelerate their spins easily. They were still spinning at a mind-boggling rate, resulting in their huge confusion.

But Kiba and Akamaru had finally got it together and were suddenly heading my way; in panic, I made a few seals and muttered "Bakuhatsu no jutsu." before pressing my open palms against the closest cyclone letting out a blast of chakra the moment contact was made, causing us to fly in opposite directions. While I had crashed painfully into a tree, Kiba and Akamaru had flown into the lake. I staggered up, and hissed when I felt pain and blood dripping everywhere. My body had already healed most of my cuts and scratches, leaving me with the aches and excess blood. I ignored the pain and ran over to the lake.

"Kiba-san! Akamaru! Are you guys okay?" I screamed, my voice rasp with worry. They've been under for quite some time. I couldn't see through the murky pond. 'Oh my god. I-I killed them!'

I was about to dive into the water myself when Kiba finally surfaced, spluttering out of the water with Akamaru in his arms. He splashed over to the shore, still gasping for breath as I handed him his towel and a bottle of water. He snatched them out of my hands, and it was easy to see that he was still tipsy for he was wobbling over to our resting tree.

I felt terrible.

"K-Kiba-san…" I sniffed, feeling the guilt creep its way in me. "I-I'm so sorry…"

He said nothing, and continued drying off the weary Akamaru, I bit my lip. My eyes were still tightly closed as I braced myself for him to yell and stomp away.

_'He… probably doesn't want to be my friend anymore, does he?'_

After few seconds, there was still nothing and I opened my eyes to see him staring back with a look of slight penitence on his features. 'Uh?'

He finally sighed. "Look, it's not your fault. I guess, you won fair and square, so don't even think about feeling guilty unless you want me to kick your ass." I shook my head weakly, still feeling regretful. I handed him my own towel to dry off with as I patted Akamaru's little head, cooing out apologies. Akamaru yawned, assuring me that I was forgiven.

I think.

I… I don't speak dog.

Kiba on the other hand, frowned as he replayed the battle over in his head. "But damn it! If only I'd practiced Gatsuuga more, then I'd have won." He yelled out, frustrated.

Startled, I gave him an encouraging smile, "That's true, you'll definitely defeat me in future matches once it's complete." I nodded sagely. "I won, but it was all by luck. Once you perfect your jutsu, I'd lose in a single second."

"Damn straight," He muttered.

"Ah…"

Not the kind of response I was expecting. Was he really that full of himself?

Kiba calmed through my awkward silence. "So…" He started; I gave him a blank look. "How did you make that explosion? I felt like I got shot in the chest." He explained eagerly. Wincing as he massaged his upper-body.

"Oh… That's a clan thing; but we can only insert and extract those special kinds of chakra from our palms. It takes perfect chakra control, which was why it took me forever to learn it, but I can only do the latter." I admitted, embarrassed to be talking about myself as such.

It really wasn't as great as he thought.

Kiba frowned; disappointed that his chance of learning the techniques were drastically low. I racked around my head for something to cheer him up. "Umm… I heard that you could put the abilities in a scroll, though." I informed him. "Once I learn that art, I'll try to make you one, ne?"

"Sweet." Kiba grinned, satisfied, and pulled his hood down to towel-dry his hair. I peered at him curiously. After a while of this, he turned around to face me. "What?" He asked, looking uncomfortable.

"You know this is the first time I've ever seen you with your hood off." I crawled closer. "You actually look really cool, Kiba-san!" I answered honestly, still studying him down.

Before, I had even mistaken the fuzz around his hood for his real hair, but it turns out that his hair was lighter in color and cut short. This gave him a more clean-cut appearance in contrast to this shaggy, mangy, _disgusting_, rugged look I was expecting. I have to say I preferred this instead.

He blushed, not expecting a compliment, but grinned. "Then I could probably get my own fan club too, can't I?" He joked. "Maybe I can win over Sasuke!"

I laughed. "Hmm… Maybe. But I don't really get to decide that, besides I'm not going to join whatever fan club you inspire." I replied, still staring closely. "I mean, it's not like that'll actually happen."

Kiba paused in his glaring when he blinked. "Wait, why does my hood make that much of a difference on looks?" He asked in second thought, poking my brow accusingly. I winced and backed up as I rubbed the red spot on my crown.

"Because you look scary?"

He frowned and got back up. "Well, I'm a fucking ninja! It kind of helps if you can intimidate your opponents!" He retorted, fired up.

"Calm down. Just forget I said anything." I grumbled, taking an irritated swig from my water bottle. Placing the cap on, I set it back in my pack while Kiba continued to vent and complain to Akamaru. It was pretty comical. Seeing him argue with a dog.

"Well, I gotta go now." I stretched, interrupting the two. "I have to prepare for tomorrow and all that. So I hope you settle this soon, Kiba-san, Akamaru-kun." I acknowledged, as I walked away. "Bye-bye!"

Or at least, tried to.

I squeaked as Kiba easily wrapped his hand around my (rather puny) arm, sitting me down painfully.

"No way!" He shouted, all past anger gone and replaced with mischief. "You're not leaving at this crucial part of the conversation!"

I smiled, I tried not to, but it was almost impossible with him. "Oh? And what if I don't?"

"Then it's an hour of tickle torture."

Err…

_Pssht! Yeah. Riiiight…_ "You're joking right?"

"Care to test that theory?" He asked, looking more evil than anything.

"No way…" My eyes widened as his grin grew. '_Ha. He's bluffing. He can't be serious… I mean, even for him that's too- … Is he really serious? Oh my god, he's really serious! Screw it! That's weird! No fucking WAY!'_

I ignored the fact that Kiba was pulling me closer as I looked around the forest, my eyes wandering everywhere, until I finally came up with the best choice.

I jabbed him in the ribs, ("Ow! What the hell!") And used the chance to tear my arm out of his grip as I ran for dear life during his moment of surprise. "SHIT!!!"

I screamed even louder when I saw Kiba jump up to chase me. "After her, Akamaru!"

"What?? Don't chase me!! Get away you freak!!"

---An Hour And 12 Minutes Later---

After our little bit of fun, Kiba, Akamaru, and I were sitting against a shady tree, panting and laughing in a heap.

"Haa, dang Kaori! You're pretty fast!" Kiba gasped out, exhausted.

"Hee hee, you didn't play fair! Hee hee! It's- Ha ha!" I could not stop giggling from that torture. Kiba, unsurprisingly, was gifted in his agility and had caught up to me in no time after literally jumping on me. He and Akamaru had done a twelve-minute overtime (because I _retaliated_) and I was too tired and giggly to even say a proper sentence.

Kiba smirked, but continued. "But you could use a little more stamina."

"Hee hee! I know!"

"Hilarious…" Kiba shook his head and grinned at my helpless state. "You've officially lost it."

I giggled. "Shut up."

We rested and after a while I stood up, rejuvenated and cured of my laughing disease. But Kiba, on the other hand, leaned deeper against the tree, clutching his chest painfully as he gave a weak gasp.

"Kiba… san? Are you okay?" I started, staring curiously at him. I paused when realization hit me.

During our fight… Where exactly did I hit him?

If I had given him a chakra blast with my palms, then I could've actually…

"Lift up your shirt."

Kiba stared. "Come again?"

"Just do it!"

Bewildered, Kiba did as he was told as I examined his chest. I held my breath. "Oh shit." There was a big wound on his torso and it was bleeding and burnt at the same time.

"Woah. You did that?" Kiba cringed. "Now that explains a few."

I concentrated healing chakra into my palms and brought them up to his chest, startling Kiba in the process as he made a grab for my hands.

"Woah, woah, woah! I've seen the kind of destruction you could do with those hands! What are you planning on doing?" He yelped, trying to sound joking while wrestling my wrists over him with frantic jerks. Akamaru barked along with the wide-eyed Inuzuka.

I looked down at him, annoyed. "It's obvious that I'm trying to heal you. Let me finish. I already used up a lot of chakra so don't make me waste any more."

I concentrated again, and placed my hand lightly onto his chest. Kiba closed his eyes. "Hmm, okay. That feels pretty good." He mumbled, as his tissues began mending themselves under my supervision.

At his words, I realized how awkward the situation might look, and abruptly lifted my hands off. Kiba opened his eyes. "Are you done?" He tried to sit up. "Ouch! Okay! It still hurts." Akamaru looked up attentively, scolding me.

I looked away, blushing. "S-sorry!" I concentrated chakra again and placed my hand timidly onto his wound. He relaxed again. _'Oh my god…' _My face was getting redder and redder. I hadn't really paid much attention to his… _body_ due to his significant injury, but it was really_…_ _toned._

I blushed again. _'Ohh god… Just don't think about it.'_

After Kiba was all healed and bandaged up, I took my hand back, massaging it. It was starting to cramp from overuse, Kiba stood up, revitalized. "Whew! Thanks! I feel as good as new. That's awesome, Kaori!" Akamaru gave a happy bark in reply.

I nodded, keeping my red face hidden behind my bangs. "It's probably going to hurt for a few more hours, but it'll be all better by tomorrow morning as long as you don't strain yourself for today. T-Take your bandage off when you wake up and you'll be in perfect condition." I mumbled, as I lifted up my pack and slipped my arms through the straps. "S-So I'll see you tomorrow, Kiba-san!"

Kiba stopped me, looking up at me curiously. "What's wrong? Did something happen while I was down?" He asked, not understanding _anything_.

I forced a grin. "No, of course not! Everything's fine. I-I'm just… tired!" I looked away. "Look, I gotta go now." I mumbled, shaking my hands out. I really was dead tired.

Kiba nodded, and smiled. "Fine, We'll walk you home then! Get up, Akamaru."

I froze. _'Fool! Can't you see I'm trying to get away from you?'_ I screamed internally, but on the outside I held my grin. "N-No, don't! I'm fine! Really!"

But Kiba walked on to the direction of my house. I couldn't tell if he heard me or not. I sighed and walked behind him, looking at the ground as I thought hard. _'Am I…?'_

No. No it can't be.

---Walking---

'_Do I really live this far away?'_ I almost groaned, it's already been eight minutes forty-six seconds and counting!

I didn't think we ran that far when we were being stupid earlier, and of course it took more time when we had to walk back for Kiba's pack. I kept my eyes to the ground the whole time, I was _so_ absorbed over the path's _intriguing_ patterns and was kicking a stone just to see how many kicks if took to reach home.

'Ninety-seven… ninety-eight… ninety-nine… one-- "Ack!"

I was too caught up in the activity to notice Kiba stop, and crashed softly against his back. "Kaori, we're here!" I looked up, and sure enough, I was home.

I smiled. "Oh. Thanks!" I said, practically running up the front steps.

"Hey, Kaori." Kiba called out right when I placed my hand on the doorknob.

"Yeah?" I spun around. And there was Kiba hovering right next to me. I instinctively backed up against the door, waiting for him to say what he wanted to say.

Kiba grinned at my response. He raised his arm _(What!)_ and poked my forehead. "Today was fun, let's spar again sometime soon!" He chuckled.

_Oh._

Annoyed, I rubbed my forehead and stuck my tongue out. "Oh no. A poke. On my forehead. My evident weak point. That hurt soooo much. Oh pain. Woe. Agony."

He looked surprised and then his eyes narrowed and he poked me again. "You know, your smart mouth sarcasm comes up at the worst times."

"Huh? What are you talking about? I don't have one."

"Oh yeah… I forgot that you were an idiot."

"Hey wait!"

That got my mind off some things and after arguing and joking around for a few minutes I finally waved him off as I stepped inside.

But once the door closed, my smile faded as I silently made my way to my room. I sat down on the ground, leaning heavily against the door.

I breathed in deeply. My heart had been fluttering so much during that whole time. It was as if I had finished a marathon race.

Seeing the heart shaped alarm clock on my desk, I gulped as a wave of realization hit me. _'I have a crush on Inuzuka Kiba…?'_ I put my hands up to my face and groaned. "What am I supposed to do now?"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**So how was it peoples? I know it's kinda cheesy and the writing's simplistic, but other than that I hope you guys liked it!!! So comment to tell me what you thought!!! **

Kawarimi Is Replacement

Gatsuuga means Double Fang Destroyer (something like that)

Bakuhatsu means Explosion

Chikusho is Shit


	5. New teammates?

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

_Blah _= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**The academy/Kaori's POV:**

Today would mark a new beginning. It was finally the day we get our new genin teams. Everything was prepared and present except for our absent examiners.

'_They're chuunins for heaven's sake. Can't they be a bit faster?' _I thought crossly. I was bored and impatient as I fiddled with the sleeves of my new clothes. I gave my outfit another look over.

My mom decided that it was time for a new ninja-appropriate wardrobe instead of the casual tees and shorts that I was usually found wearing. It was a lot better than a lot of her other presents. Like the several first aid kits, or annoying alarm clocks I would frequently receive. Everyone in the village knows how terrible my mother is with giving presents. It was a long-time running gag.

Moving on, my new attire consisted of loose dark capris, and a pale mid-belly sleeveless jacket that had my clan symbol sewn on the shoulder-area. Underneath the coat, I had on a light blue tank top with an oversized pocket sewn on the abdomen, and thank god that I had my jacket to cover my bare shoulders. I get cold more easily than others because my body spends more energy converting nutrients (I don't eat, remember?) and healing nonexistent injuries than making body heat. (curse this useless ability!)

Oh, and because I technically belong in the Amakusu clan, I have been made (by my mother) to wear our mark from point on. It was nothing special, really. Just a pale green teardrop with a half-swirl connected to the inner side of it. I also had on specially made black Amakusu arm-guards that had a thumbhole so that it would stay put, since there's always the possibility of making a mistake in the chakra replenishing and causing more damage onto ourselves rather than the opponent. An arm guard could easily reduce both pain and casualty. Plus they're warm.

I continued to scrutinize the room, trying to predict the two students who I'd be paired up with, but along with talks of graduation, I've been hearing a lot of gossip. I was only sitting here for about fifteen minutes and I've already heard five days worth of nonstop scandals.

"_Kami-sama! _Naruto passed!?"

"Oh my god, but did you hear about Mizuki-sensei?"

"Of course! I can't believe he was a traitor this whole time! He was so nice!"

Most of these chitchats were from fangirly people who, in my opinion truly lack self-respect. (Except Sakura-san and Ino-san, I guess they're good) They should just realize that guys who treat them so terribly have a reason for treating them like that and shouldn't bother them more.

Ohh, but maybe that was a bit harsh. I'm sorry, I take that back.

I was surprised myself at the news. I could never imagine Mizuki-sensei would try to steal Konoha's sacred scroll (though I'm still not really sure what it is). I also heard that Naruto was the one who had defeated him- most likely false information but it was interesting all the same considering the fact that Mizuki-sensei's a qualified chuunin.

There was no way that Naruto, who didn't even pass the genin test, was sitting right next to Sasuke with the Konoha headband gleaming proudly on his head by such impossible means…

… Or so I tried telling myself. I was told I was a gullible person, and I found myself leaning onto the belief of Naruto being able to do such a thing. I frowned, maybe I should ask the dobe himself but he might actually take that credit…

-- But, if he really did cheat, like half of the student population believed, then so _help _me Naruto I will-!

Ow!!

I jumped as something sharp suddenly made contact with my forehead. I rubbed my brow. "Oi! Kaori! Hello? Are you still alive?"

I let out a tiny hiss and looked up to see Kiba-san standing there with Akamaru on his head, he must've been trying to get my attention for a while because he had this cute glare on his face. I froze and looked away, blushing lightly. _'Since when is a glare cute?'_

"Eh? Kaori, what's up?" He asked, looking a bit confused.

Oh my god. This sucks. This sucks so bad. Up until now I was repeatedly telling myself that nothing changed, but if I'm going to react like this every time he says hello then what the hell am I supposed to do?

I bit my lip. "I-It's nothing! I'm just nervous!"

Kiba nodded knowingly, "You should be. After all, you might just be a leftover student without a team." He teased, poking my forehead.

Again.

I rubbed my brow, past bashfulness gone, as I pushed the loose hairs from my face. "_Mou! _You meanie!" I huffed, but let it go; knowing that his lies would make me more paranoid. It would be wiser not to provoke him.

"So how's your torso?" I asked, changing the subject after a bout of awkward silence on my part. "It should've healed by now, right?"

Kiba was about to reply when doubled over, gasping and unable to breathe it seemed, and was coughing violently instead. He fought a groan, and his head fell forward again. I could hear him hiss as he gritted his teeth forcefully.

My eyes widened through all of this as I crouched next to him. Had I messed up on the healing process? How could I have made it worse?

"Oh my god! Are you okay? I'm sorry! Kiba-san!" I cried, shaking him. I was checking his pulse, blood pressure, temperature, everything, as I wracked through my mind in an effort to remember what I had done to cause this emergency situation.

I turned back to him just as he looked up to me with this… incredibly cheeky grin on his face. "Just kidding!" He grinned wolfishly and gave a peace sign. "You totally fell for it, Kaori!"

I was not in a peaceful mood.

I glared, embarrassed. And punched him on the back of his head with a "_Baka!"_

"Itai! Jeez! Can't even take a joke!"

I sat back down. After Kiba recovered, he paused and gave a sniff. "Hey, are you wearing new clothes?"

I fought the urge to roll my eyes, as it was against my nature to be so openly rude. "I was sure it would be obvious, Kiba-san." I murmured politely, flapping the hood of my jacket over my head.

He nodded approvingly. "They smell good." And sat down on the empty seat next to me.

I just sat there, blinking. _'That's it? That's all he has to say? It _smells_ nice? Of course that's something Kiba-san would say! But… that's so random!' _I frowned, but soon dismissed it. At least it was positive. _'Of all the places to sit, why does he decide to sit here--?' _

"NARUTO!!!"

Kiba and I turned around as screams of anguish and disgust filled the room. I instantly regretted my rash and nosy decision. For there was Naruto, locking lips with _Uchiha Sasuke. _I screamed.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!" I shrieked, covering my eyes. "MY EYES!!! THEY BUUUUUUUUUUUURN!!!" I hadn't noticed that I was beating my head against the desk this whole time. My innocence! My purity! All _tainted!! _"EWWWWW!!!!"

The whole class was now in uproar. Kiba-san was trying to keep a grip on me, using a lot of effort to keep me from hurting myself even further and was yelling at me to calm down, which was nice of him because I knew he would've been laughing if I weren't being such a distraction. Akamaru was barking; most of the female population were still screaming and now beating Naruto (with Sakura making the most damage) while the dobe tried to stutter out his side of the story; Sasuke was still gagging and choking; the rest of the boys were laughing their heads off and making gay jokes (the bastards they are); the quiet people were yelling at everyone to shut up or ignoring the raucous; and the few teachers who had come in were scolding us to be quiet. In other words, it was absolute chaos. (A/N: See how much one new character could change so much!)

Iruka-sensei finally stepped in and gawked. I will never forget his next words, as they had done their deed to bring peace the situation. Truly motivated me to work hard and do greater things.

"IF YOU IDIOTS DON'T SHUT UP, I'LL MAKE SURE YOU GUYS DON'T GRADUATE TILL YOU'RE OLDER THAN THE THIRD HOKAGE HIMSELF!!!"

**---**After a While---

"Starting today you are all official ninjas." Iruka-sensei started. Most of us listened intently. "But, you are still genins. It's going to get harder from here as you will have to overcome a countless number of tough challenges and situations. You will all be in groups of three… _blah blah blah._"

Well, I _did_ say most.

"So I will now announce them." Iruka proceeded. I jolted out of my thoughts, listening for real. '_Important.'_ My brain said._ 'Must stay awake.'_ But after a while, I started getting lazy again.

Must it take so long to hear my own name?

"Next, seventh group: Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke."

'_ARGH!!! Taking forever!' _I resisted the urge to scream, as I stared at disappointed little Naruto scowling at Sasuke.

'_You might just be a leftover student without a team.'_ Kiba's jokes were staring to get to me. And I'm pretty sure he was sensing it as he patted my shoulder almost apologetically.

"Next eighth group: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino."

'_Even Kiba-san's gone.' _I blinked. Kiba smirked, but even I could tell he was trying to hide a wry frown. "Guess we're not in the same group, Kaori." Akamaru-kun gave a small whine.

I smiled, giving him an 'oh well' shrug. _'Maybe it's a good thing. This way, I know I won't have to go through nerve killings.' _I would just die if Kiba found out I had a cru--… I liked him more than a friend.

"Next, ninth group: Amakusu Kaori, _Majikan Makoto_, and _Toriwa Tsubasa_." (A/N: He didn't actually say group nine, so it's still up for grabs!)

I heard a few gasps as I sat up. Yes, Toriwa-san was also a pretty popular guy, mainly because he was good looking and because he was really strong ninja-wise. A born successor of the Toriwa clan, he can summon a bird and fight from a far range. He, like Kiba-san, has his own animal familiar and clan markings as well. His marking was this slender black feather under his left eye. Despite being a bit of a flirt, he was still one of the strongest male students this year in the academy, only second to Uchiha Sasuke.

Majikan Makoto-san was a proclaimed prodigy from the Majikan clan. I heard she had already activated her _kekkei genkai, _bloodline limit. Anyone with the Majikan blood flowing through their veins could see any occasion that had happened to a certain place or area for more or less than three years prime, maybe even on people too! She was able to manipulate time to some extent, which was effective in the shinobi wars. She was a strong, serious, and devoted kunoichi who would surely make her mark on the world.

I gulped. They were both extremely powerful, would I really be able to keep up with them?

I looked around for my new teammates. I never really talked to them, but I finally found them, they were conveniently sitting side by side. I saw Toriwa scowling at Majikan, who was giving him a glare in return. Toriwa-san noticed me and winked. I returned the smile with a wave, and turned around to face Iruka-sensei again.

"Team ten: Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji. That's it for the groups."

I stopped listening after that. I even tuned out Naruto's voice! But I was too jittery to fully function what was happening around me.

**After School/Kiba's POV:**

I wandered around town after school with Akamaru, as he was my most trusted companion. Of course we were also excited that tomorrow was going to be our first day as a team. I thought about my group and scowled. _'Too bad Kaori or anyone else isn't in my group… grr! People are already saying that group nine is the best! How annoying!' _

It was true. Team nine was considered the strongest group, and even I could see why. After all:

-Teams One through Three were all annoying, no-nothing twits.

-Four to Six had people who couldn't do _anything._

-Team Seven, who despite having Sasuke, had Naruto and Sakura. (Sakura: Just wait till Shippuden!)

-Team Eight was believed to be neutral. I was paired with Hyuuga-with-no-backbone, and the quiet bug freak.

-Team Ten had Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. No need to say any more.

(A/N: Well, this was before they realized Shika was a genius, and they were called 'the idiot squad' in the beginning.)

So naturally, team nine would be deemed as the strongest group by default.

I blinked when I heard something shuffling at my feet.

'_If Akamaru's the one on my head, then…' _I could only roll my eyes as the smell hit my nose.

"Boo!" Cried the voice to my right. I looked down and saw Kaori on all fours, grinning up at me playfully. "Haha! I scared you, didn't I? Kiba-san? I did, right?" She giggled, looking heartbreakingly hopeful.

She's not intimidating _at all_.

I grinned. Kaori. Of course… "Are you serious? I can smell and hear you from more than three miles away." I deadpanned.

She pursed her lips, dejected. "Really?"

"Yepp."

"Oh…"

Then her lips twitched upwards and she glared in mock anger. "Wait before! Were you implying that I'm loud and I smell bad?"

I laughed, "Well yeah! When was the last time you took a bath? This morning? Unsanitary!" She smiled, giggling at the joke.

I chuckled, shaking my head in good humor. "Well, are you going to get up or not?"

Kaori looked up at me with surprise as she realized that she was still squatting down on the ground. "Oh." She got up in an embarrassed manner and grinned, "Don't worry! Once I'm a chuunin, I'll be a lot more alert!"

I smirked. "Well, you seem to be in a hurry! Slow down! You just got fitted into a genin squad!" Akamaru cocked his head in confusion as I added. "Besides, no matter how hard you work, I will always beat you anyway."

She (wisely) ignored the last comment and went on. "But I've got to get stronger!" She pouted. "I have to: prove my clan that I'm strong, help people of the village, and I guess become one of the world's best medic-"

"Hmm… I guess those might be achievable." I nodded in acknowledgement, thinking deeply. "It's great that you're okay with therapeutic stuff now."

She nodded. She told me she used to hate it, but I guess she's fine with it now. "Oh, and I have to become a jounin! Or maybe even an ANBU! A Hokage! I will make a _legacy!_" She finished, smiling brightly as she reflected over her dreams.

Me: "… O-Okay."

Her smile disappeared and her eyes narrowed. Damn it, she's giving me that pout again. "I sense lack of faith."

"…"

"I hate you!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Yo yo yo! Haha, what'd ya think? I don't really know why I put in that last bit. I guess it was for fun. So seriously, how was that chapter? Did you guys like it? Please review your thoughts!**

_Kami _means God, paper, and hair; but in this case it's the first one…

_Mou_ means "Jeez!"

_Tori_ means Bird

_Wa_ means Harmony

_Tsubasa_ means Wing

_Ma_ is interval, space, time.

_Jikan_ means time, hour, etc. (Although it could mean class period, which is not relevant to the story -.-;;)

_Makoto_ means Truthful, Sincerity. It's normally a boys' name, but it'll work out.


	6. Err Nice to meet you?

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

_Blah _= different language

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

_Blah_= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**The Next Day/ Meet the teammates/Kaori's POV:**

"Alright!" Our Jounin instructor announced. "Now that we're all here, let's introduce ourselves, shall we?" Team Nine looked up at him blankly. He finally decided on something to do during our last five minutes of awkward silence.

Another minute went by.

"_Ano…" _I began nervously, a bit lonely since I didn't know anyone here. Makoto-san and Tsubasa-san seemed to know each other already, so they weren't in as much discomfort as I was. Nobody knew our sensei. "W-What do you want us to say, sensei?"

The jounin smiled pleasantly. "Oh, whatever comes up in your mind. Such as your name, likes, dislikes, goals, the usual!"

Us: "…"

The Jounin sighed, "I guess I'm first then… So my name is _Shiroyogan Hikaru_, you can all just call me Hikaru-sensei. Umm, I just recently became a jounin instructor, so this is my first time teaching a genin squad, and I'm really excited. I like training, missions, and sour foods-- my favorite fruit is a lemon if anyone wants any ideas for Christmas presents or anything!!"

"…"

He coughed, regaining composure. "Erm, things I don't like include: sweets, horror movies, scary people…" Hikaru-sensei gave a slight shudder. "And those kinds of things… my goal right now is to make sure you guys all grow up to be strong, capable ninjas, who'll appreciate my efforts and talk nonstop about how much of an inspiration I was when you're all grown up and become important people. And that's all I'll say. Next!"

Again, no one said anything and we could feel Hikaru-sensei's self-esteem level dropping dangerously low during our moment of silence. Adding on to that, there was Makoto-san muttering faintly about wanting new teams.

With that, Hikaru-sensei dropped to the ground as if a ton of bricks fell on him, boo-hooing dramatically.

_'This is really our Jounin instructor?'_

I felt sorry for him, so I cleared my throat. "A-Ah, umm… Hi… Er, my name's Amakusu Kaori if any of you didn't know..."

At this, Tsubasa-san immediately sat up, more attentive to me either because: A. I was an Amakusu, which was rare in Konoha- or anywhere else in the world for that matter.

Or B. I was a girl.

Hmm…

"Um, I like to train, dance, sleep, play with my friends, sometimes I eat sweet odango's…" Hikaru-sensei gave another shudder. I paused. "Uh, umm, I-I don't like… bullies, or anyone who is rude for no real reason, I also dislike cheaters. Mm, my goal is to pretty much be stronger and someday find my clan's compound and prove myself to them… ah, th-that's it."

"That's good Kaori-chan! Alright, who's next?" Hikaru-sensei cheered. Once again, there was no reply. I saw his eyebrow twitch, and he let out a sigh. "You guys are really…" and then he, I don't know how to say this… he changed.

"**YOU LITTLE WHORES! TO THINK I'D HAVE TO DEAL WITH SMARTASSES LIKE YOU IS MAKING ME FUCKING PISSED! YOU THINK I **_**WANT **_**TO DO THIS? IF YOU LITTLE SHITS DON'T DO WHAT I SAY IN THE NEXT TEN SECONDS, I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU AND HACK YOU INTO ONE HUNDRED NINETY-FUCKING-EIGHT PIECES, DAMN IT ALL!!!"**

That got their attention. I stared. Wasn't he the one who said he didn't like scary and short-tempered people?

Tsubasa-san spoke up without hesitation. "I'm Toriwa Tsubasa! I like birds, flying, training, girls, anything easy to swallow, and my little sister. I hate poachers, meat, bird-hunters, girls who don't like me, and that chicken house down the lane." He scratched his head nervously. "And in the future, I want to be really strong, I guess. Maybe marriage too." He rushed out, afraid of sensei, yet still able to maintain his calm demeanor to some extent.

Hikaru-sensei smiled, pleased. "Thank you, Toriwa-kun. Ah, can we hear from you now?" He asked, motioning for Majikan-san to start.

She sighed, and began in an almost emotionless and monotone voice. "Majikan Makoto. I like training and anything that will make me stronger. I hate unnecessary noise, guys who dye their hair just to get attention from girls-"

At this, Tsubasa interrupted angrily. "How many times do I have to tell you? This is freakin' natural!" Somehow guessing that she was referring to him, for the roots of his spiked up hair were black and the tips were a golden powdery brown. "It's not my fault I was born this way! What about sensei? He has blue hair!"

No one was listening to Hikaru-sensei talking about his own mussed up blue hair as the other two kept bickering. I touched my own braided hair, making sure it was still the thin, _natural,_ black it was.

Makoto-san rolled her eyes in an apathetic manner. Her own short, almost boy-ish hair was brown and curly. "-- And I hate people who kill and sacrifice innocent people for their own personal gain. So my goal is to kill a certain person who fits that description for he ruined my life."

There was an unnerving silence, as we stared at her in surprise. Hikaru-sensei was the one who finally broke the awkward silence. "Ahem! Uhh, thank you, Makoto-chan. I feel as if I learned a few of new things about you."

"Damn straight." I muttered, surprised that I said it in unison with Tsubasa-san. He looked up at me, grinning… and scooted closer.

"Okay." Hikaru-sensei announced. "Tomorrow, we will start a mission…" I grinned. _'Finally! The best part!'_

"It's a training exam, just to test you guys if you should really be in a genin squad, cause out of the 27 students who passed the exam, only 9 or 12 will become true Genin. This exam determines that- Oops! I wasn't supposed to tell you that!" Hikaru-sensei's eyes went wide.

We felt sweat drops slide down our heads, and sighed. _'Another exam?'_

"ARGH!" He slapped his forehead in self-annoyance. "Just forget what I said, and come to Team Nine training grounds, okay?"

"Hai…

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Next Day/Team 9 training grounds/Kaori's POV:**

I paced around our training ground impatiently, which was somewhere in the middle of a forest section, simultaneously throwing stones at a few target posts just for the heck of it. Tsubasa watched my movements lazily from under a tree.

'_Miss, bulls-eye, border, bulls-eye, miss, bulls-eye, close, oops missed again, border, bulls-eye…' _This went on for about another ten minutes until I got tired.

"Ne Tsubasa-san, where do you think Hikaru-sensei and Makoto-san are?" I asked, moving to sit next to him. Sensei was the one who told us to come at six in the morning yet he wasn't here yet and Makoto-san was still absent. I sat down with a sigh.

"Hmm… I don't know, but I do wonder what our task is." Tsubasa said, and made a small smile. I barely responded, too caught up in my thoughts to give much notice to his presence.

"Ne, Kaori-chan! This is a good time to get to know each other, don't you think? Like, bonding! I mean you're really cute. We can even go on a date later on if we have time! Doesn't that sound like fun?"

"Eh? Ah, y-yeah, I guess." I replied and smiled sheepishly. I can't believe it, I was thinking about Kiba this whole time. Something happened, I don't know what it was exactly, but now I like him even MORE. How great is that?

Tsubasa seemed to read my mind, and gave a sly smile. "What were you thinking about, Kaori-chan? Your boyfriend? Does that mean you're already taken. Damn. Well, who is he?" He asked.

I turned beet red. "N-no! I don't know what you're talking about, Toriwa-san!"

"Oh? So it's true?" He grinned. "Who is it? I promise I won't tell. So how about it, ne? I can just fight him for you!"

"I'm not lying!" I glared, biting my lip as I tried to will him to believe.

We stared each other down for about two heartbeats before he suddenly looked away and gave a sigh in defeat, all the while covering his face, looking embarrassed that he lost so quickly, it seemed. "Fine. I don't need two girls hating me. But I'll remember this."

I let out a sigh and smiled, "Ah, thank you then!"

He nodded, still looking in the distance.

I smiled unsurely.

Pause.

"So, you're an Amakusu, huh?" He asked innocently, I gave him a curious look. "You know, you're the first I've ever seen, cause they have that super secret compound in the middle of nowhere. I heard you can heal yourself and do those cool chakra thingies. You must be really strong, Kaori-chan!"

"What?! N-no! I'm not that strong." I stammered, blushing again at the compliments that were just rolling off his tongue. I didn't like where this conversation was going either; it was too focused on… me. Not a very comfortable topic.

Unlike other people who would be too open to talk about themselves (AHEM! AHEM! WHEEZE! COUGH! _KIBA_! Hqregpvjrhgp-CHOO!). I, however, I'm quite proud of my humility, which isn't very modest, nor does that make sense but whatever, either way I don't like to talk about myself.

"B-But, Tsubasa-kun! You're from the Toriwa clan! That's amazing! How you can easily communicate with birds and all that!"

He grinned. "You think so, Kaori-chan?" I nodded, smiling sweetly.

He kept staring. I turned away, deciding to change the topic again. "So how do you know Makoto-san so well?"

He scowled. "Oh, we used to be friends until she started getting depressing to be around. Well, let's just say we're not that close anymore." I gave him a puzzled look. I started to open my mouth, but closed it.

"So, you people 'bond' by talking about me, huh?" Tsubasa and I looked up to see Makoto-san staring blankly at us.

I stood up, frantic. "N-no, it's nothing like that. I'm sorry if I upset you…!"

She rolled her eyes, "Whatever."

"Oi… She was trying to apologize to you and you just ignore her? What is wrong with you're attitude?" Tsubasa accused darkly. Makoto didn't even bother to answer as she leaned against a tree to the opposite of us.

"Ah, it's okay! I don't have anything against it. Honest." I assured him, not wanting early disbandment. "S-So! Tell us about yourself Makoto-san!"

She gave me a blank look. "What do you want me to say?"

"Whatever you want, I guess…"

She yawned. "I don't really care."

"You already told us that…" Tsubasa retorted rudely.

No response.

"Y-yo!" Hikaru-sensei finally came up to us, gasping profusely. "I'm sorry I'm late! There was a bit of trouble that came up!"

"Daijobu, sensei!" I assured, "We're glad you're okay-"

"I'm not okay!" He shouted, bawling. "I was so scared! WAAAAH!!"

"A-ah…?"

He stretched, having recovered just as quickly as he broke down. "Okay, now that we're all here, let's start our survival mission!" He grinned.

He started to explain the details. "Okay, so on my way here, I put a special talisman… key… thingy… I put them on two bears. You have to find the bears and try to take at least one talisman off without hurting them. Don't worry, these ones are easy to spot, they're white… No, they are _not _polar bears!" He gasped in obvious exasperation at our questioning looks. "Oh, and they're keys to these three boxes. I'll be holding onto these boxes, so you'll have to fight me with all you've got up until 12. Whoever does not open a box by then will fail and be sent back to the academy."

I gulped, there was a lot on stake.

"Okay, now START~!"

We all jumped into the forest in search of the bears that held the key to the box and our future. I sighed. _'Corny.'_

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Later/10:00am/Survival Mission/Kaori's POV:**

"Heh- don't worry, Mr. Bear! I still think you little brutes are cute!" I panted, licking my dry lips in excitement as I faced the snowy white bear with an excited grin.

The bear… said nothing of course, but it was panting a bit from our little hassle. Sensei said he didn't want us to hurt the evil beast, which was difficult since I had a lot of pain inflicting moves, so my plan so far was to wear it down.

… But I was starting to get tired.

Man, I should've thought through this plan a bit better.

I paused as I racked through my brain for an efficient strategy._ 'Would sensei be okay if I hurt it and then heal it?"_ I looked at the stone talisman… key… thing that was hanging from its neck._ 'Yeah… That wouldn't be so bad, right?'_

"No, that's wrong! That's like cheating! Don't do it, Kaori!" I scolded fiercely. The bear cocked its head. '_Don't look at me like I'm the weirdo, you little polar bear-wannabe.' _

"Alright bear! After this, you're going to wish you didn't put up such an annoying fight in the first place." I grinned and nibbled off a piece of a soldier pill, feeling my energy and chakra restoring. "But you better not take too long. 'Cause I have a time limit and Kaori-chan will get very mad if you make her use up all of her soldier pills."

I jumped. Its tiny eyes followed me as I leaped around it from tree to tree, it didn't notice that it was looking at a bunshin that was hopping around him, and not little ole' me, who was crawling behind his back waiting for an opportune moment to untie the ornament that was hanging from its big furry neck.

"Oof! Ow!"

It seemed I spoke too soon. That was a smart little critter. Superb acting. Of course an animal could tell the difference from a clone by smell. And I learned it the stupid way! How could I forget something like that after dealing with Kiba and Akamaru?

'_Think! Think of something, Kaori!' _I analyzed the bear as it started to crawl past a thick tree. I felt an idea pop out and took out a couple kunais and shurikens that were connected to chakra strings.

I gritted my teeth. "Let's hope this works." And threw each of them at a tree as I jumped around it. Tying it against the tree. After a few minutes, the bear was trapped. Too tired to move. It stopped struggling before making the most pitiful sound I've ever heard.

I felt guilty. "Aww! I'm sorry Kuma-san! Don't worry, once I take off your little key, I'll let you go, okay?"

But still, if I knew it was going to be that easy that I would've thought of this sooner. God, I'm such an idiot.

The bear did nothing as I stroked its soft fur; I gently tugged the ornament from his neck and put it safely inside my weapon pouch. I took out a kunai and as I got ready to leap away from it, cut the ropes free. But there was no need for me to jump, as the creature didn't even try to attack me.

The bear grinned and _said_. "Well, that was a fun fight! I hope I get to spar with you some other time!" and bowed. Yes, he _spoke_ and yes, he _bowed. _Unsure, I bowed back and watched it poof away into nothingness. It was a summon, probably Hikaru-sensei's.

'_Did that bear just…? How did it… Didn't he just… I'm pretty sure it… what…?' _

"What…?"

I shook it off, and looked up at the sun, or attempted to. Stupid fireball hurts my eyes. '_It's already 10:30, I've got to hurry.' _I ran off as fast as I could to the meeting place where sensei said he would be.

After running for a while, I heard the sounds of kunai clashing and the struggles of a fight. I hid under a bush and crawled over to the noise. There in plain sight, was sensei, Tsubasa-san, and Makoto-san. All were fighting hard against each other. _'Please don't tell me I'm the last one!' _

I am.

I stared at the brawl before me. Tsubasa and Makoto were incredible fighters, undeniably making me the weakest of the team. Their battle was just unbelievable.

Tsubasa was blowing out coded whistles between a few birds, which were attacking several shadow clones of sensei, and all were in synch according to Tsubasa's commands as he flew around sensei making sharp nimble jabs at the young man. Makoto was most likely fighting the original in between snaps at Tsubasa-kun to leave her alone. She made a few hand seals and her speed suddenly increased by several seconds, but even with her impossible speed she was still blocked many times by our instructor.

Both Tsubasa and Makoto had potential to take down sensei. Yet they were making no progress. What was going on?

I shrugged it off and waited until sensei's whole back was facing away me, I set up a few booby traps for him. I waited, and felt a grin when I got the result that I was hoping for. Lucky!

While dodging Makoto and Tsubasa's attacks, Sensei triggered the trap and a whole set of kunai and shurikens went flying towards him, meeting their mark. _'Yes!' _I thought triumphantly as I crawled closer to the battleground. Several poofs followed.

_Poof! _Sensei disappeared.

_Poof! _There was a kawarimi in his place.

"_Poof!_" I heard something behind me. I made a pivot and gasped when I saw Hikaru-sensei smirking at me. "What took you so long Kaori? Well, let's see what you've got!" I jumped away from him and into the battle scene, no sense in hiding now that I'm found. I was about to blast him with my jutsu when he made his own seals, ones that I had never before seen.

"_Ninpo: Mienaku Akarumi no jutsu!"_

And then from his whole body came this dazzling light that spread throughout the forest, filling everything with it. Even though my eyes were clenched shut, flecks of light still managed to seep through, blinding me.

When the glow finally subsided, I stood there. Feeling scared when I still couldn't see.

Where was everyone? Had they left? Did they see the light too? I wandered about the clearing with my arms out stretched and eyes wide open, I think. "Guys? Are you okay?" I asked unsurely.

I was blind.

I placed my hands over my eyes, sending healing chakra through the lids of my eyes, desperate to see. '_I can't be blind. I just can't.'_

After a few more moments of this, I felt my vision returning, the damage wasn't so serious and my body was already mending my overwhelmed cornea and nerve passages, my pupils were already beginning to dilate, there were still some bright spots impairing my vision but it wasn't so bad that I couldn't see that my other teammates were stunned as well.

"Hey, don't worry, I can see now!" I cringed when the light of the sun reflected off their headbands, blinding me again for a moment. "Hold on! I'll heal you in a mo-… YAAAAA! Too bright! Too bright! Turn around!"

--Later--

"Ah! Kaori-chan! You're here!" Tsubasa realized. Now that everyone had gained his or her eyesight, we decided to take a moment to rest our strained eyes. A swallow cooed at his side.

I gave him a look. "Ah, this is Suzumaru! I guess you can say he's sort of my familiar and favorite swallow summon, but don't tell the other birds." A few chirps came out of the bird. "Oh, he's saying _Yoroshiku!"_

I patted his tiny head (Suzumaru's, not Tsubasa's) with a finger and smiled. "He's adorable! Ah, but why didn't I see him earlier?_" _

"Oh, Suzumaru's super lazy. He was sleeping earlier and I forgot about him- Hey, ow! Stop that!" The bird paused in its revenge. The owner continued, rubbing his newly received peck marks. "But now that we're fighting, he's wide-awake." He explained. "Violent little bru- Oi! That hurts!" I grinned.

I glanced over at Makoto-san. I was surprised that spinning in her gray eyes was a block of color, that moved in likeness to submarine sonar. It whirled like a clock inside her iris with the pupils as its center.

"Is that your…" I started, pointing to her eyes.

"Yeah, it's the _Bunsegan_. But it's only in its early stages."

I stared dumbly; the rotators would change colors according to her mood; that was the first stage of the Bunsegan. Once the owner is fully able to control it, the triangle would ripple in one solid color. I mean if you were fighting an enemy, it'd kind of be a giveaway. Just now Makoto's eyes changed into a dull orange. I guess that's when she's thinking.

"Toriwa, Amakusu, come over here." Makoto commanded.

Puzzled, we all huddled around her. "Okay, so far we're getting nowhere by fighting individually. If we keep this up, there won't be any time left." We nodded. "We have to work together on this one and fight sensei as a team. Are you guys with me? Because I am NOT going to let myself get sent back to the academy."

"Oh em gee! THE great Majikan Makoto, female sensation, is going to actually WORK with us? Oh my lord, I must be dreaming! Somebody pinch me!" Tsubasa squealed sarcastically, ignoring Suzumaru's warnings.

Makoto glared, her eyes now had fiery red sections whirling at an unbelievably fast rate.

_Thump._

"Oww! I said _pinch_ not _punch_! But seriously, what are you up to? You'd never want to work with others, especially me!" He growled, rubbing his throbbing head.

Makoto rolled her eyes. "I'm trying to pass here, and I admit that I can't do it alone. So are you guys going to work with me or not?"

Tsubasa was about to make an angry retort, but I interrupted. "Okay. After all, we _are_ a team. We've got to learn to work together once we pass." Tsubasa stared at me, looking betrayed. I gave him an apologetic look. "We can't do it alone either, Tsubasa-kun."

I'm pretty sure I saw the beginnings of a smile on Makoto-san, but it was soon gone. She instead nodded. "Thanks, Amakusu._"_

"But." I added, "You _have _to call me Kaori!"

"…" She blinked. "I'll think about it._" _And began her trek towards sensei. I paused to sulk, but soon exhaled and followed.

We all leaped, and quickly found Hikaru-sensei; he was sleeping on a rock in a manner so lazy that it could piss anyone off. He blinked and looked up at us. "Ah, you're here." He yawned, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Did my jutsu wear off that quickly? Damn, I thought I could sleep just a little bit longer too…"

"Ah! Sensei!" Tsubasa warned. "You better wipe that carefree smirk off your face, cause we're gonna work together and do whatever it takes for us to get those boxes!" He smirked.

"Shh!" I elbowed him, but it was too late. Sensei raised a brow. "Oh really? Guess I have no choice then." He cracked his knuckles.

"Look what you did now, bird-brain." Makoto glared at Tsubasa, her eyes were spinning red again. Tsubasa returned her glare coolly.

Sensei stood up, we got into fighting stance… he slowly rummaged around in his pocket. _'What weapon is he going to pull out?'_ I thought panicked.

"Here ya go." Sensei yawned and threw a parcel at each of us. We caught it (I actually blocked mine) and saw they were the boxes! (And had to leave to go get it when it flew into the bushes.)

_Eh?_

"I-I don't understand…" I stammered as I felt around the chakra-laced package.

"Who cares? Just open it and give me the key when you're done." Tsubasa smiled, examining the box curiously.

"Actually, I'm kinda wondering what's happening here myself." Makoto stated. "Sensei, tell us what exactly is going on."

He rolled his eyes. "Isn't it obvious? You guys pass."

"…?"

He sighed. "This test isn't really about your skill level or anything like that. It's about teamwork. I know that they teach you of the importance of completing your mission; I was once a student myself, you know."

We nodded, not really sure how to respond.

Hikaru-sensei continued. "But your friends and allies are what really matter; you are more powerful when working with others rather than by themselves. Those who abandon their friends are one of the worst kinds of people ever and are less than trash-- quote borrowed from the great Hatake Kakashi-senpai~!"

We gave him another blank look.

He heaved another sigh. "Didn't you guys notice how you weren't getting anywhere earlier when you were fighting alone? The reason why Kaori was the last to come was because you two, Makoto and Tsubasa, had both found a bear and were forced to work with each other; while Kaori had to manage on her own." He scratched his head. "I guarantee that you guys would have gotten it done much faster than before if you knew that from the start."

"But we all haven't actually fought together." I interrupted, feeling a bit perplexed. "So we wouldn't really know."

"No, you would've gotten it. I was just too lazy to actually-- err… wait, what?"

I tilted my head to the side. "We've never actually fought together, so how would we know?"

Sensei's eyes widened drastically. "Oops! I wasn't supposed to give it to you guys yet! Argh, I totally ruined a really cool moment! Give me back my boxes!" We all held them out of reach.

"Sensei," Tsubasa smirked. "You already passed us. It's too late for that."

"You already said we would've won anyways if we worked together." Makoto added. "It's the same either way."

Hikaru-sensei turned to me.

I looked around in hopes for an idea on what to do. After thinking about it for a while, I reluctantly placed my box into his hands.

"Arigatou, Kaori-chan. So far, I think you're my favorite student over of those two monsters over there."

Monster duo: "…"

"Whatever, you guys all pass anyways. I'm too bored to finish fighting. So go ahead and open the boxes." Hikaru-sensei tossed it back to me.

I could already read everyone's minds as tick marks formed. _'__**Bored!!!**__'_

"H-hai!" We placed the talisman in the hole, after we heard a satisfying click. We lifted the lid.

"Hurry!" Tsubasa urged, patiently waiting for someone to be done with the key.

It contained a…

Wait. What _is_ this, exactly?

Inside was just a coupon that said,

'_YAY! Team 9 passes! MI FAMILIA! One meal ticket to whatever you want (under $20)!! ~ LOVE Shiroyogan Hikaru!!'_

"…"

"By the way, Kaori-chan." Hikaru-sensei started, I looked up. "I watched part of your fight with my cute little Kuma-chan for a while. Why didn't you just attack it and then heal it? That would've been so much easier and-"

"GAAH!"

"Haha, you're funny!"

Sensei grinned, and stood up. "Well, see ya. I gotta go home and set up barriers, traps, protect myself, etc. That's going to take a while, so ja!" Hikaru-sensei winked, and disappeared with a poof.

'_Traps? For what?' _

"Kaori-chan! Are you ready for our date?" Tsubasa asked. I shrugged before doing a double take. "E-EH? Date?! What are you-? B-But you never! I-I don't-!"

He pouted. "What? You already forgot?"

Forget? Forget what? He never said anything like that!

"Fine, maybe some other time. You owe me, though!" And with that, he leaped high in the sky- higher than an average ninja as I stared after him in disbelief.

"Heh, this team is full of weirdos…" Makoto sighed, probably used to Tsubasa's antics. "But maybe that's not such a bad thing." And she walked off. "Well, see you tomorrow Kaori."

I gaped. _'She called me… Finally! I… I have an identity!' _With a huge smile, I jogged off towards the direction of my home. I was still pumped up from the soldier pill, for even a nibble could last a few hours.

"Oi! Kaori!" I turned around and saw Kiba walking along the road. "_Ohayo_ Kiba-san! Akamaru-kun!" I chirped.

"It's hardly morning, you silly idiot!" Kiba laughed, pointing out my mistake.

"Ah, you're right. I meant _Konbanwa!" _I corrected with a laugh, choosing to ignore the names. "Umm, so how was your day?"

"Awesome. Akamaru and I were the best ones there!" Kiba grinned.

I giggled. "Of course."

He narrowed his eyes, "You don't believe me, do you?"

"I do!" I insisted. "At least Akamaru-kun trusts me, don't you friend?" I asked while scratching Akamaru's loveable head.

He rolled his eyes. "So how was yours?" He asked.

"It was great!" I replied, my mind whirring in major flashback mode. "Are we going to spar again?"

He nodded yes. Kiba and I would occasionally train with each other. Sometimes the meetings were planned, other times it was spontaneous. I guess we were both up to it today. "Then I guess I can tell you the details during the fight." I said.

"Alright! Let's go train now!"

I smiled. "Sure. But unlike last time, I shall win!"

"Che, just bring it!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**So how was that chapter? I think I like their sensei he makes so many mistakes! (but then again, so do I.) Haha! So please review what you think so far! I wuv reviews! Thanks for reading! Have a good day~!**

_Shiroyogan _means white lava, cause I wanted it to represent his bipolar tendencies

_Hikaru _means light, cause he's usually a chirpy happy person

_Kuma _means bear

_Mienaku _means can't see

_Akarumi _means lighted spot

_Suzume _means sparrow

_Maru _meaning circle, is a common suffix to put on male names (Shika_maru, _Aka_maru,_ Konoha_maru_, etc)

_Yoroshiku _means 'Let's get along' and stuff like that when people first meet.

_Bunsegan _is a mix of _bunseki _and that -_gan _eye thingie.

_Bunseki _means Review.

_Ohayo _means good morning

_Konbanwa _means good evening.


	7. These LameO D Ranks

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)= Extra

(A/N: Blah)= Me

_Blah _= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**A few days later/In a kitchen/ Kaori's POV:**

'_Just concentrate, Kaori. If you focus chakra into your hands, you could finish at a faster rate. Now just make sure you don't make them explode or that'll be bad, very very bad. Okay… Now go!' _I opened my eyes and with my now chakra-pumped hands, scrubbed soap onto the dirty dishes in front of me.

Haha, now I'm already rinsing!

"Kaori-chan… you're too optimistic… We're only cleaning the kitchen…" Makoto muttered, having warmed up to us now that we were teammates. "This is hardly a mission. Don't bother wasting your chakra."

See? Isn't she sweet? After a few days/weeks we got to know each other better and I found out that Makoto-chan, after breaking through her barrier, is caring. Her way of showing it is a bit harsh, but that's because she cares! But it gets bad when she confronts people. That is very bad, but to her, it's a great way to find out things for sure… Like I said, at least she cares!

I grinned. "Look! This could actually be training! I'm serious!" I answered back with a grin on my face. "This actually works because I'm being _really_ careful and--!"

_BOOM!!! CRACKLE!!! CRASH!!! _(A/N: Rice krispies~)

"Oh shit! Oh shit! OH SHIT!!"

We all stared at the now-broken plates that were scattered in front of me. That's what happens when you don't pay attention and forget.

Oh no…

"Ooh. You're in trouble now." Tsubasa winced, feeling my pain. "This is one of those bad parts you mentioned about being an Amakusu, isn't it?"

Tsubasa was also someone you could easily consider a friend. His personality is a lot different from Makoto-chan, but surprisingly they think alike. For example, they are both nosy and quiet. Yes, both of my teammates aren't that big on privacy.

But Tsubasa-kun is also very cheery and graceful. I am insanely jealous of him for that. Considering most of my days are spent falling facedown in the ground. I've never seen him fall once in my entire life. Stupid bird.

Tsubasa paused. "But it's okay! Everyone makes mistakes sometimes!" He comforted. "There's absolutely nothing wrong with that! But are you hurt? Do you want me to kiss it for you?"

I was too upset at myself to yell at him and resorted to a weak glare. '_Again!'_

Tsubasa-kun was also the biggest flirt I've ever seen. He and Sasuke-san were the most popular guys during academy, and unlike Sasuke, he would actually associate with his fans, leading them on. Not that he's a pervert or a player or anything. He told me he just likes being in normal relationships.

Tsubasa smirked before kissing my hand. I made a squeak sound and yanked my arm out of his grasp, already feeling my face heat up. I had already been forced to give him that _date_ I supposedly promised him… before Kiba crashed it and joined us, along with Tsubasa's sister, Hane. A cute little nine year old who did not approve of 'our relationship' at all. After that, his attempts were mere joking, thankfully.

"Eh? What's going on here…?" Our customer called out as she walked in. She paused and stared at the mess made by a certain culprit. "What- You- Those- How did you-?" She gaped in horror. "Those were specially imported from the earth country! What did you do?"

"Ohh!I'm so sorry! Please forgive me!" I cried, my eyes stinging as I bowed profusely. "I'll pay for all of them! I'm sorry! _Sumimasen! _I'm sorry! I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry! That won't be necessary, Kaori-chan!"

I looked up and saw Hikaru-sensei giving me a reassuring smile. He turned to the manager. "Please excuse us. We had no intention of causing you can take the money out of our pay." He bowed and gave the old lady a charming smile.

"Oh! Oh, don't worry! There's no need!" She blushed, and looked at us. "Don't worry there, I forgive you brats." We frowned, but she turned her attention back to sensei while unbuttoning her shirt a bit.

I shared a look with Tsubasa and Makoto. Makoto and I furrowed our brow in disgust, while Tsubasa hid his sniggers by coughing. I never thought about it until now, but Hikaru-sensei _is _rather handsome.

Oh eww…

We turned back to our clueless sensei. "Now why don't you have a seat, young man? I'll pour you some tea." The lady said as she pushed Hikaru-sensei out front.

"E-Eh? Wait! N-No! That's okay!" He protested, uncomfortable, but still utterly unaware.

"Come along now, dear."

"B-But-!"

We waited. And after they were a safe distance away. Tsubasa finally burst out laughing and couldn't stop. "Oh wow! Can you believe that old _baabaa _has a crush on sensei? Hee hee! If I was a bit older than that could've been me! Eww! Oh my god, my ribs are hurting!"

"Shut up! She might hear you, idiot!" Makoto scolded through gritted teeth.

Tsubasa started to calm. "Don't worry! I'll just say I'm laughing at Kaori-chan!"

"Yes, that could actually work…" Makoto agreed. Her eyes slackened as she turned back to me. "She is rather clumsy for a ninja…"

I pouted. "Hey! That's not fair! I was really sorry! Stop treating me like a baby!" They grinned. "Aww! Guys!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Afterwards/Hokage's office:**

"Hmmm… It says here that your mission went well." The Hokage evaluated, as he read our mission report.

Tsubasa gave a knowing grin. Our teacher had unintentionally, or I should say, unknowingly wooed our customer into giving us a good report with full payment.

"Okay, now you're next task is baby-sitting…"

"Are you serious?" Tsubasa sighed, preparing for the speech he had practiced earlier with us. "How exactly are we supposed to get stronger if we're wasting precious training time on chores, sir? We are more than capable enough to handle anything above a D-ranked mission. We request for a higher ranked mission." Tsubasa concluded calmly.

"Tsubasa-kun!" I hissed. Sure these missions were lame, but couldn't he have just bitten his tongue and be polite like he normally is? "I don't think now's the right time for this! Right Makoto-chan…?"

"Yes, we need experience to become proficient ninjas, and so far we are being regarded far below our potential." Makoto added to the weary elder.

The Hokage was exaggerating his annoyance. What's with him? He's acting as if he's already gone through this!

(A/N: Team seven was in the office right before them after saving the fire lord's cat. XD)

"I can't believe I have to say all this again. Do you know what the point of these missions is? They're to help the community and to strengthen our…"

"Wait!" They sighed in unison. Tsubasa must've been annoyed as his voice hit an edge compared to the normally calm, soothing tone. "Please, sir. We are already aware of this information. We only request a higher ranked mission."

"- The mission goes to ninjas who are capable of succeeding with ease…"

"I don't think the Hokage-sama's listening to you." I muttered.

"Neither do I." Tsubasa blinked, his eye twitching every now and then.

"Let's just wait for him to finish and then ask again." Makoto grumbled.

"Fine…"

I turned to face our own bored jounin. "Sensei, aren't you going to stop them?"

"Nope, I'm getting pretty bored of these lame-o D-ranks myself."

I sighed. I should've known he would say that, he doesn't exactly act like a jounin. "What kind of a teacher are you?_" _

"Obviously the cool kind!" He grinned and gave me the thumbs-up.

"_Sigh!"_

23 minutes later:

Team nine sat around in the old office. Makoto was having a discussion about jutsu with Hikaru-sensei And I was distracting the increasingly impatient Tsubasa.

"- Our missions can vary from babysitting to assassination…" The Hokage continued, adding on to his normally instructive, but at the moment annoying speech.

Hikaru-sensei gave a groan, just loud enough for our team to hear. "Oh my god. Is he _still_ talking?"

Tsubasa sighed, in agreement. "When do you think he'll stop?"

"Do you kids understand?" The Hokage suddenly finished.

"Hai!" We shouted, sweating bullets at his sudden conclusion. Well, Sensei and I were. Hokage-sama nodded in approval.

"But we still want a better mission…"

I saw a few veins popping on the Hokage's head. "Did you even hear a single word I just said?"

"Yes, but were you listening to a single word we were trying to say, sir?" Makoto retorted.

Touché. She has a point… but he's a superior! We could get in so much trouble for this!

The Lord Hokage sighed. "Fine, since you're so impatient, I might even consider giving you a few C-rank missions."

My eyes widened in surprise, and I grinned. _'They did it! Oh, I just love my team!'_

"Are you serious, Jii-chan?" Hikaru-sensei gaped, squinting at the Sandaime's face for any signs of a lie. "Or are you actually making an attempt at a joke, sir?"

"I said I would consider it. Now if don't you get out of my face I _will _take it back!"

"Ah, hai…"

"So what exactly is this mission?" Makoto asked, working to hide her own excitement with the solemn mask that our team could easily see through.

"Your mission is to guide a family from robbers and thieves on their way to the land of the hay." (A/N: RHYME)

"That's good enough for me!" Tsubasa grinned, now explaining the details to the now-awake Suzumaru. Tsubasa was right, that bird was a true narcoleptic.

Hikaru-sensei sighed. "I dunno, Hokage-sama… Personally, I still think there's room for improvement…"

"No."

"Fine…" The jounin sniffed, feeling a bit hurt from the straight answer. Team nine sighed, but we were used to him by now.

"So when do we get to start, sir?" I asked, with a toothy grin on my face.

"Tomorrow morning in my office at 7, sharp. You're dismissed."

"Hai! Thank you so much, Hokage-sama!"

"Hmph! Now get out before I kill you all here!" The leader threatened, while making a few dangerous-looking hand seals.

"Wha…? HOLY-!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Once outside/Team 9 training grounds:**

"Th-that, that was scary! Is the Hokage even supposed to resort to such a thing?" I panted, placing a hand over my rapid heart in a poor attempt to slow it down.

"I don't know! But can you believe we actually did it?" Tsubasa grinned, hiding his own fear through good news. "It's unbelievable."

"This is only a C-ranked mission, so we should be able to handle this mission fairly well." Makoto calculated.

The one who was actually scared seemed to be Hikaru-sensei, as said jounin continued to shudder visibly behind a tree.

_'Not again...'_

"Demo, we've never been out of the village. We're not going to be in a good situation geographically." I started doubtfully.

"N-no problem! It's only a C-rank, p-p-plus we have _M-Moi_, the experienced and ultra-p-powerful, Shiroyogan Hikaru!!"

"Of course…" I gulped, faking a grin for the sake of our teacher. That is, until I heard him muttering to himself and saying something about "Kaori…" and "insecurities…"

Goodness! They were only passing doubts!

"Can we go home now, sensei?" Tsubasa asked. "We're pretty much done for the day and there's something I need to work on."

"I too, have something important to attend to." Makoto added, feeling weary herself from all of the chores. "Don't you, Kaori?"

"Yeah…" I have another sparring session with Kiba and Akamaru.

_'Haha, this time I WILL win against the dog.'_ I grinned. Okaa-san and I worked on this amazing technique, and I am certain that today's match shall end in my victory.

"Huh? Oh! You're right! Sorry, I guess I lost track of time. Fine, we're dismissed for the day." Hikaru-sensei rubbed his head in embarrassment. "Make sure you guys come on time tomorrow, okay?"

"Hai!" We chorused, and with a poof, Hikaru-sensei disappeared.

I could already taste my victory.'_Inuzuka Kiba, today is the day you lose!'_

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Soooo how was that chappie? Pretty boring I must say, but I'll try my best in the next one! So please please PLEASE review!!! Thanks for reading it so far!!! XDD**

And the only vocabulary word is:

_Sumimasen _= Excuse me, or I'm sorry.


	8. Nutty Amakusu member

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

_Blah _= different language

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)=Me

_Blah_= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Our training place/Kaori's POV:**

I twirled a kunai, bored, as I leaned into a tree. I took the time to prepare for today, but Kiba-san was still late.

He'll probably be here soon. Maybe he had to go to the bathroom or something.

---30 minutes later---

I am seriously leaving.

It does not take anyone forty-five minutes to take a dump. Why am I still here?

I grabbed my kunai in mid-twirl and sighed. "Ah, that means I can go home and study again!" I said to myself with a grin in an effort to cheer myself up. Out of habit, I would always cover my negativity.

But in my head… I swear… _'That… that Inubaka!'_

I picked up my equipment and sighed. "Poo, I was really in the mood to win. And I learned a new technique too! Stupid Kiba-san! That Inubaka was probably scared to lose and--!"

"Hmm? Stupid Kiba-san was probably… a what?" Came a voice.

My eyes widened. I gulped and turned around to see Kiba with Akamaru in his coat, hood down. I blushed, feeling my heart racing already._ 'Damn! Not the hood!'_

Kiba had a playful smirk across his face as he came closer. "Well?" He asked innocently. Why is he so cocky right now? Of all things, he should be begging me for mercy!

"Oh! W-well, I-it's all because, y-you know! I-I mean, that, well, y-yeah." I stammered, turning red.

_What the hell…_

I could just kick myself for being so caught off guard. Or better yet, kick him. But I probably won't. Damn. A crush of all things!

His smirk grew into a rather wicked grin. "Aww! You're blushing! How cute! Go on, you were in the middle of saying something! So what's wrong, Kaori?" He teased, poking my brow teasingly.

I scowled and turned away as my face grew redder. I was not in the mood for this. "Go away. If you think that I'm going to forgive you, then think again, asshole."

"Well, thanks for waiting! I'm honored!" He beamed.

HUGE turn-off. I narrowed my eyes even further. "Ugh! I can't believe you! I'm leaving!" I yelled, storming off.

He laughed at my reactions and continued like that until he finally realized I was serious. "Aww! Come on! I was only kidding! Don't be mad!" He whined as he caught up to me, easily catching up with his longer legs. Akamaru barked as well.

"Please go away."

"Kaori! Don't be mad! I tried to get here as fast as I could, right Akamaru? There was a situation in our mission and we had to stay late! I swear! Come on! Let me explain!" He pleaded, looking desperate to be forgiven.

"I see…" I whispered and I came to a stop. Kiba did the same. I made my hand into a fist, Kiba saw this and fell into a hasty defensive stance. With my fist, I turned around and…

… Made a big peace sign.

I stuck my tongue out playfully before grinning. "Just kidding! Haha, you fell for it, Kiba-san! I'm not mad… well, not for now, at least. But that was really fun!" I giggled. "I can finally see why you do such twisted, immature stunts, Kiba-san! It's actually somewhat funny!"

I stared as Kiba's face changed. Starting from blank, to confused, to shock, then to anger, annoyed, and finally a merciless glare.

"Uhh…?"

Next thing I knew, I was trapped in a headlock with a fist lightly digging into my noggin.

"Yaa! Kiba-san! Stop it! That hurts!" I freaked, my voice muffled by said boy's arm.

He forced a laugh, and ground his fist even harder against my head. "Oh-ho, Kaori! I'm going to make sure you regret doing that, brat!"

"Hey! I'm in the same grade as you!" I muffled in protest, grabbing at his arm to let go.

"And I'm EXACTLY a year and a month older than you, therefore making you a grade-skipping brat!"

That one was mom's fault! She actually forgot how old I was at the time!

"You're not exactly the most maturest of them all 'Mr. Oh So Mighty Dog-Tamer!' You were born on July 7th, weren't you? Then you're also one of the youngest in our class!" I argued, still trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"Older than you, brat."

"Stop calling me a brat! I-Inubaka-san!" No matter how much I squirmed and wriggled, I just couldn't get out. I tried hitting him to let go. No such luck.

"Oh? Am I hearing name-calling? And you're getting so violent too!" He gave a dramatic sigh. "You're hurting my feelings, Ka-o-ri-chan! Sigh! Then I guess I shouldn't let you go as, ah, punishment!" Kiba shook his head forlornly, all the while rubbing his fist even harder against my skull. I stopped hitting him and focused my attention on protecting my poor head from the barrage of attacks.

"YAAA!! That didn't hurt you at all, you liar! And you called me names first, you… you loser dog person!" I gave a whimper. The pain was keeping me from thinking of good comebacks. Even MY names couldn't possibly be THAT bad!

He twisted his knuckles even faster.

"Ow ow ow! Alright! Alright! I'm sorry! Now stop! Please!" Kiba brought back his knuckle and I gave a sigh in relief. "Thank you--"

… And then he dug his fingers into my waist. Kiba grinned, all the while wiggling them against my ribcage and making me squirm even more.

"Yaa! STOOOOOOP!!!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Finally Fighting/Kaori's POV:**

"Oof!" I groaned as I crashed into a tree.

Oh look at that, I actually made the tree crack a bit. How delightful. With another wince, I staggered up, already feeling my body regenerating itself.

One of the Kibas that had previously hit me let out an agitated growl. "Damn it, Kaori! You and your stupid clan! Stop healing yourself! Penalty!!"

"Woof woof!" The other Kiba, most likely Akamaru barked.

I frowned as I wiped the excess blood from my now cured lips. "I can't help it. It heals itself even when I don't want it to." I protested, while blocking a punch. It pushed me backwards and I looked up to see a barrage of shurikens flying towards me.

_Thud thud thud thud thud!_

Kiba frowned as he walked towards the weapon-studded log in front of him. I was nowhere to be seen.

Heh heh heh…

He gave a sniff, and widened his eyes when he found that he could barely smell me.

"Hehe, learned something new, Kaori?" He smirked, hiding his surprise.

I smirked myself, when I sensed the edge of uncertainty tainting his voice. After training with Hikaru-sensei (and his blinding light of DOOM) I learned that when you lose an important sense, in Kiba-san's case, his smell, the first thing you feel is anxiety and suspicion, enough to cloud your judgment and strike a sense of vulnerability.

I let out the breath I had been holding and peered my head out from behind a tree, twirling a special slasher in both hands.

This was my new trump card. I would twirl two wires that were attached to individual sharp pieces, with the wires tied to a small hoop at the end for me to slip my fingers in. At first glance, this doesn't seem to look like an imposing weapon but when the device is in motion, it creates a slicing, spinning disk for me to attack with.

Also hanging from the sharp piece was a small mass of special chakra-weaved perfume that I had made together with my mom. I would swing my slashers and sometimes I'd let out tiny soundless explosions (Bakuhatsu no jutsuuu~!) to spread the smell more. With my chakra signature, I could distort the perfume ball and its scent so that I could paralyze my opponent, hide my presence, hypnotize or confuse the opponent, make illusions…

Well, maybe someday I might. If I worked on it I probably could.

This technique was a type of aromatherapy that would leave the opponent too dazed to defend him or herself; I could simply attack with the sharp end of my slashers afterwards (or a kunai). This technique was especially affective against Kiba and Akamaru with their Inuzuka noses and all. Plus, I can make it into a great air freshener.

I kept twirling my Kaori Slashers_. _I twitched in delight. I just thought of the name right now!

But my moment was short-lived when I realized that I hadn't heard from Kiba for a while. What is he up to now?

"Ah-ha! Found you now, Kaori!"

I snapped out of my thoughts. "Wha–? Oh! OW!"

I was so busy thinking about beating Kiba… that I forgot about him. How stupid. I deserve a kick in the side for that-- Oh wait. I just got one.

Ouch.

I gasped when the air got knocked out of me. I looked up to see a smirking Kiba. "_Haa haa! _What the- _haa _the- _haa haa! _W-what the h-hell!"

"Now I see why I could barely smell you! It's those little perfume balls at the end of your string thingy, isn't it?" He asked, feeling proud from his discovery.

"Grr… Arf! Arf! Arf!"

Kiba growled and argued with his tiny companion for a bit, before turning back to me.

"Oh fine! Akamaru was the one who figured it out. Geez! Happy now?"

I nodded. "Great job!" I wheezed, giving them a thumbs-up.

He merely grinned in return.

I laid flat onto the ground now that I had regained my breath. "L-let's take a break now."

"But we've only been at it for an hour!"

"Yes, but I already used up all of my chakra. I don't want this match to end in your success, so I figure we should just stop and save you a victory."

"What?" His eyebrow gave a twitch. "Then I want to keep fighting. Hey! You can't stop just because of that!" He spluttered, outraged. "Oi! Get up! This match isn't over. Take one of those soldier pill things that you always eat."

I frowned. "Do you have any idea how awful those things taste? They're really nasty and I don't want to waste it either! I only eat those in emergencies now!"

"Since when?" He growled.

"Last week. Trust me, they're horrible!"

Kiba bared his teeth. "I don't care, now get up!" He ordered.

"No." I pouted crossing my arms, as I looked him in the eye. Which was rather hard considering how I was lying down and he was still standing over me. "I'm tired. At least give me a break."

He closed his eyes in bitter acceptance. "… Five minutes."

"Fifteen." I challenged.

"Ten."

"Twenty."

"Deal." Kiba sat next to me and took a hearty gulp from his water pack.

'_And he thinks he won.' _I smirked and just lay there, letting him believe what he wanted. I was just thinking… thinking deeply about life, clans, people, crushes, and other things.

During my reflections, I randomly found myself wishing for the scent of lavender. Its warm, sweet fragrance was perfect for resting. I was a sucker for aromatherapy because it worked so well for me.

I looked down when I realized that I had my perfume slashers still looped around my finger and the floral aroma lightly filled the air. _'Mmm, that's better.'_ I felt myself visibly relaxing and could sense both Kiba and Akamaru feeling the effects as well.

_'Ugh, so tired…'_ I mumbled and from the corner of my eyes, I could see Kiba thinking the same as we both gradually began to doze off with the calming scent of lavender tingling our noses.

**One hour later:**

"Kaori! Hey, Kaori! Wake up!"

'_What's going on…?'_

I stumbled awake and rubbed my sleepy eyes. I was sleeping so peacefully just now. "Mm? Kiba-san? What's wrong?" I paused when it all came back to me. "Oh. Oh right. Oh my god. I'm so sorry! I guess I fell asleep and-- Whoa… What time is it?" I looked around, noticing how much darker everything was. The whole forest was covered in shadows.

"Yeah, you fell asleep, alright! And because of that, I got bored and snoozed off too. Right Akamaru-… Damn it! You fell asleep too!" Kiba accused sourly, all the while glaring at his resting companion.

_Now that's not exactly my fault._ "I'm sorry."

I blinked. "Well, what time is it?" I yawned, patting Akamaru's own little sleepy head.

"Time? It's 11:47pm."

My eyes widened. "R-Really?!"

'_Ahh!!! I was supposed to go home by 10! Ahh!!! I have a mission at 5!!! Ahh!!! They're going to be so pissed!!! Ahh!!!'_

Kiba sighed as my face went from one horrified expression to another.

"Calm down, Kaori. It's not like this is the first time we went past your curfew!"

"Yeah, but this was just another pointless chapter for the readers!" I mourned.

"Huh?"

"Nothing."

"Okay."

I groaned, slapping my palm to my face. "And I have to wake up at five cause I have a mission! It's our first C-rank too! I'm probably gonna end up sleeping through the whole thing!"

Kiba merely raised a brow in response.

"Ahh! No wait! Maybe if I just tape my eyes open… No. That's when I'm trying NOT to sleep! Idiot! Maybe I could get eight more alarm clocks and then… No, I'd probably break them all. Waah! Kiba-san! What do I do?!"

Kiba blinked.

I sighed. "You're such a huge support, thank you." I drawled sarcastically before muttering to myself. "And you call yourself a companion."

"You have a C-rank mission, Kaori?" He asked. Golly, he almost reminded me of Sasuke-san with that look.

"Uh, yes."

"Cool. We have one too! In fact, that was why I was late coming here in the first place, isn't that right, Akamaru?"

"_Arf Arf!"_

"Oh good!" I smiled cheerfully. "Then we can be C-rank buddies. Maybe we can somehow communicate telepathically and talk to each other. Oh wait. That would be weird. Eww no. We'll have none of that! Uhh… Kiba-san?" I continued to ramble to myself until I began to actually listen to what I was saying, and then I stopped. _'I think I'm finally losing it.' _I turned my attention back to Kiba, who just stared, cocking his head at me as I flushed.

"Ah, uh, nevermind."

He said nothing, and scratched his cheek, where his red markings were.

"Um, aren't you going to respond?" I muttered, bracing myself for the teasing.

"…"

I shrugged my shoulders and almost relaxed. Seeing that there was going to be no reaction from boy and pet dog.

Almost as soon as I calmed, Kiba suddenly let out this huge booming laugh, which_ did not surprise me at all!_ I turned around to face him with wide eyes. At this, Kiba laughed even harder, clutching his stomach and pointing at my bewildered face.

"You are just insane!" He chuckled. I gave him an icy look, and he laughed once more. "Come on, we should go home… Unless you want to go to an insane asylum first, we could pre-order a straitjacket just for you!"

I rolled my eyes, but my face reddened and I stamped my foot in annoyance. "S-S-Says Mr… Mr… Mr. Slow Reaction-san!" I stuttered, racking through my mind for a worthy enough comeback to Kiba's own.

Kiba smirked again and poked my head. Stop doing that! "Sorry Ka-o-ri-chan, but there's no place in the insanity ward for someone with ahem! 'Slow Reaction'. But I'm pretty sure there's plenty of room for a nutty Amakusu member!"

_Glare glare._

"Come on, let's go home, now. Akamaru's already asleep." Kiba insisted, pointing out to the snoozing dog as a snot bubble grew and shrank with every deep breath.

_'So cute!'_ I almost squealed, but I held my composure. I wanted to stay mad at Kiba for just a bit longer.

_Glare glare._

Kiba looked up to see my evil eye, but he simply chuckled. "Ne, are you still mad? Fine, we'll just go ahead and leave you here to let out some steam. Sayonara, Kaori!"

I frowned at Kiba's retreating form and looked away.

'_It's pretty dark out… Funny you notice these things better now that you're alone.'_

I jumped when I heard a rustle from the trees. _'What was that?'_ I could already my heartbeat speed up and I-- did that bush just move?

I gulped. '_Calm down, just calm down Kaori!' _I heard a twig snap from my right. 'What kind of a kunoichi are you if you're scared of every little thing-'

What was that sound? I slowed down my breathing and strained my ears.

Oh my god, it's moaning!!!

"KIBA-SAAAAAAAAAAAN!!!!!!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

Sayonara means bye or farewell

**Sooooo... how was that chapter?? If you have anything to say, click the button and review please! Thanks a lot for reading folks!!! ^^**


	9. Just what is she up to?

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

_Blah _= different language

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)=Me

_Blah_= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**A few D-ranks later/Kaori's POV:**

"So after we baby-sit the fire daimyo's nephew we have to… take… out the… trash?" I repeated hesitantly as I staggered inside the customer's house. I set down the mountain load of groceries. "That has to be it, right?"

Tsubasa set down his own loads sighing as he took out a small grocery bag from Suzumaru's beak as the poor bird was struggling under the weight of the parcels. "Hmm, well we painted someone's fence, and washed their windows. We also had to trim that one lady's bushes and feed all fifty-nine of her cats. Umm. Yeah, I think so."

_Sigh_. That C-rank mission had gone by really fast. We had to escort a family to the Hay country, and it included a newborn baby later on during the assignment. Whoosh! What was scary was that I had to take care of it most of the time because I was the healer, which made me the unofficial nanny…

And midwife…

_Flashback:_

_Me: "Hey! The baby's coming! Someone bring me warm water! NOW!"_

_Tsubasa: "I don't want to go in there! I'm not supposed to see those things!!! I'm still a premature male!"_

_Makoto: "She didn't mean you specifically! Just get the damn towels, you pansy!"_

_Woman: "It's coming out!!! HELP ME!!!"_

_Husband: "DARLING!! Help her already! My wife!"_

_Me: "I'll be right there! Tell her to keep breathing! Just where is the rose and neroli oil I asked for?"_

_Tsubasa: _*Cringes*_ "Here! S-Should we wake up sensei?"_

_Hikaru-sensei: _*Unconscious*

_Me: He's fine where he is! Now PUSH!!!"_

_Flashback over:_

I have to say; nothing exciting really happened other than that, as that was the most climatic part of the mission. Sure, there was that one time when we almost got ambushed by a couple of bandits. But thanks to Makoto and her Bunsegan, we noticed this and surprised them and knocked them out in ten minutes flat. Nothing else.

I turned around as Makoto threw an old moldy carton of milk into the trashcan.

I hid a smile. We also found out that Makoto-chan had a thing about snakes. We were just peacefully walking along the path when we saw a small, adorable little garter snake slithering on the forest ground. When Makoto-chan first noticed it, she gasped and jumped about a meter high, looking freaked out, but then she had on this angry glare on her pale face and she turned her Bunsegan on and did the scariest technique ever.

While I was cooing over the tiny thing, she grabbed it tightly in her hands and muttered. "_Toshi Nomu No Jutsu!"_ and soon after muttering the jutsu, the snake's aging process just sped up and after a few minutes it withered up and died, leaving a small pile of ash in its place. Luckily she can only do that on really small plants and animals, and even that tires her out. I do remember Tsubasa-kun teasing her about her fear when she had to sit down and rest. Thanks to her, I now have an _Ophidiophob-ophobia._

"Ne, guys, you know what I heard? I heard that when Team Seven went out on their C-rank mission, they accidentally received a B-rank mission and had to fight two A-ranked criminals. What do you think about that?" Tsubasa asked, lugging in an empty trashcan as he came back inside.

I took the information slowly. Oh, so it's that again. I had heard a few whispers about it here and there, but I had shrugged them off. I didn't pay them much mind.

Hikaru-sensei picked up a package of eggs and carefully set it inside the fridge. "I'm not sure if this was true or not, because all members had come out wounded, but alive. Kakashi-senpai didn't really tell me anything."

"Uchiha almost died."

We whipped around towards Makoto as she placed a set of seasonings into a cabinet.

"Sorry, what?"

Makoto finally looked up from her task, yawning. "Uchiha Sasuke almost died." She repeated, impatient.

"And how do you know this for sure, Majikan?" Tsubasa-kun asked, not believing her.

She frowned. "I took a glance at Team Seven my eyes right when they passed through the gates. Did you already forget, baka?" Tsubasa mutters, she continues. "Well, I saw Sasuke's almost death and I saw Naruto did most of the fighting. He's stronger now, that Naruto. He's got, ah, powers."

I studied her closely. "What kind of powers?" I asked, warily. This was the first time I've ever heard Makoto-chan sound so cryptic… well, more so than usual.

"Just a different kind. He's got a different chakra." She simply replied, deep in thought.

Hmm. This definitely calls for an investigation!

Now, where is Naruto most likely to be after his mission today?

_Bingo._

"Hey guys, after today's mission let's all head to Ichiraku! How about it, ne? Come with me! It'll be my treat! How about it?"

"Sure!" Hikaru-sensei grinned, looking forward to free food.

"What? Why? Kaori-chan?" Tsubasa asked, placing the empty grocery bags on top of the table. He narrowed his eyes. I could read his expression, and it clearly said. '_You're up to something_.'

I ignored him. "Makoto-chan! Tsubasa-kun! Come with me! Ne, ne?"

"I need to train." They simply replied, unintentionally in synch.

And I was so sure Tsubasa would say yes too!

"Come! Come come come! Come come! Please?"

Tsubasa had a sweat drop sliding down his head. "Why are you being so persistent, Kaori?"

"Come come! Ne? Please come! We need to have a social gathering, guys! Cooooooommmmmmmmeeeeee!!!"

"Alright! Alright! I'll go!" Makoto sighed, rubbing her temples. I couldn't have been THAT annoying, could I?

"You promise right? You better better better!"

"WE ALREADY SAID YES!!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Ichiraku's Ramen/Kaori's POV:**

"One spicy seafood ramen, please!" I ordered, after examining the menu board for the past few minutes. I hate to say it, but I've never really eaten at Ichiraku's, seeing as I had no need to. Naruto would so freak if he knew.

I waited for the other two to order as I chose a spot for us. Makoto had gotten a miso pork, Tsubasa vegetarian, and Hikaru-sensei had finally convinced the ramen man to somehow make a sort of lemony-flavored ramen.

Um, _eww_?

After ordering, they sat down with all of them on one side of me. They were all muttering about how they wanted to train, with the exception of Hikaru-sensei who was instead murmuring about "What if the 'beast' came?" Well, I guess I could interrogate him on that too.

"Hey, Makoto. So what exactly were you saying earlier about Naruto?" I looked towards my right at Tsubasa who was staring at Makoto closely. He beat me to it!

Makoto gave him a wry glare. "Why does it matter to you, Toriwa?"

He shrugged. "You seemed really scared, and you're my teammate. Of course it matters."

I shared a look with Hikaru-sensei, but turned my attention back to the other two. Now seems to be a good time to slip into the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm worried for you Makoto-chan. If there's something bothering you, then I'd like to do something about it."

She looked closely between us. She looked at Tsubasa to me, and then to Tsubasa. She must've been touched by our LOVE because she said. "Fine, I'll tell you later."

I grinned. That's good enough for me!

"Here's your spicy seaweed ramen, miso pork, vegetarian, and um, a lemon ramen?" The waitress, Ayame I think, said as she placed our bowls in front of us. She had a confused look on her face for a moment until she placed the bowl in front of Hikaru-sensei. Oh dear, now the poor girl's blushing. No! Don't look into his eyes! Oh! Too late!

Love struck~!

"Kekeke!" It looks like Hikaru-sensei's got another secret admirer!

"What's so funny, Kaori?"

Sensei was again, oblivious to all of the attention and I shook my head, assuring him that nothing was wrong. We took in a hearty breath and chorused. "Itadakimasu!"

After taking a swig of my tea, I finally turned my attention to my ramen, and instantly became entranced. It just looked so… perfect. The bamboo shoots carefully lain onto the side with the shrimp curled around it so tenderly. The gummy-looking noodles and seaweed was peeking out from the broth soft and precise. How are we supposed to eat something that looks so pretty?

Although the other three didn't really share my problem, they just gobbled it down, not even noticing the beauty of ramen. I stared at their evil deed in horror.

"Is something wrong?" The old man asked, afraid that he had made his first mistake in many years.

"No, it's just so… pretty. I don't know how I'm supposed to eat this…" I murmured unsurely, embarrassed. It was really tempting, but I didn't want to ruin this hard work of art!

"Kaori, It's even MORE insulting to the owner if you don't eat it. So just gulp it down!" Hikaru-sensei drawled, giving me an, 'Oh my god, you're such a dork!' look.

I gasped. "Is it really, sensei?"

"Duhhhhh…"

_Slurp! Munch, munch, munch. Gulp!_ "Ahh…"

"Good girl, Kaori."

"Yepp. Good ole' people-pleasing Kaori." Tsubasa muttered teasingly.

I ignored him, as my eyes sparkled. "It's so good! I should've tried this ages ago! May I have seconds?" I asked with my mouth full as I held up my already empty bowl. The last time I ate was when Tsubasa-kun explained to me about the _wonders of birdseed_, and that was two months ago.

BLERGHHHH… bad memories! Suppress! Suppress!

"Go ahead, you're the one paying, remember?" Tsubasa grinned.

"Oh right. Never mind then." I sighed miserably. I knew that look, and I was not surprised when he asked for another helping. It was my favorite one too.

"Here ya go." I blinked and looked up to see a duplicate of the ramen I had just ate. "Eh?"

Tsubasa smirked. "Don't you wanna eat it? I'll pay for just that one, so you enjoy."

I grinned. "Seriously?" He nodded. I squealed, glomping him. "Yay! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I cried, squeezing the life out of him as he laughed. I quickly let go and went on to eat my ramen.

"Oh, you're such a suck-up, Toriwa." Makoto rolled her eyes. "Must you flirt with your teammate too?"

Tsubasa-kun ignored her. I hadn't been paying attention and only heard the word 'Teammate'. I gave Makoto a glance. "Huh?"

"Oh, ignore her." Tsubasa grinned. "By the way, Kaori?"

"Hmm?" I didn't look up from my task. Too busy eating. No time to talk.

"Are you hanging out with us because Inuzuka isn't back from his mission yet?"

_*Splode*_

"She's choking."

"Could you be any more obvious, Majikan? Ack! Kaori! Breathe! Breathe!"

"_Kaff! Kaff! _W-what?!" I gasped. I wasn't even thinking about Kiba before they even brought him up!

Damn, and I have spicy ramen broth in my nasal cavity!

'_Ow ow ow ow ow…!'_

My teammates gave each other a sly look before turning back to me.

"Hmm…"

What? I was supposed to be the one giving the interview! They just turned the tables on me!

"Guys." I sighed, keeping my composure. "I'm dead serious. I just wanted to talk to you about-- you guys!!" I screamed, growing more frustrated as my teammates gave little giggles behind their hands. Even Makoto-chan was snickering!

Ugh. I can't believe this. I glared at Hikaru-sensei the older and supposedly more 'mature' one out of all of us, as he laughed the loudest.

I blinked when I realized something. "Wait a minute, since when do you have the right to accuse me of this, when you have your own complicated little love life, Hikaru-sensei?" I asked.

"What? Who? Me? I do?" He asked, totally confused.

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. "Who is this supposed 'beast' you talk about? It's a girl, isn't it?"

Sensei's eyes widened, and I knew I had hit the jackpot. Makoto and Tsubasa gave me a sly glance and slipped into the conversation too.

"Tell us, sensei. It defeats the purpose of a team if we keep secrets from each other, isn't that right?" Makoto asked nonchalantly.

"It doesn't work like that! This detail brings no danger whatsoever-- ah wait… Considering it's her… then she could… and then we'd… _OH NO_…"

Err…

Tsubasa-kun nodded. "I'm hurt sensei! Can you really not trust us?" He asked, faking a wounded look onto his face.

Sensei sighed. "It's not anything like that. Yes, it is a female stalker sadist creature, and I am always terrified for my life whenever she's anywhere near me."

"Really sensei? Can you tell us anything else about her, more specifically her name?" Makoto prompted, eager for him to finish. We were all _bonding._

"I'm not sure if I should tell you, the name itself is a curse and she could easily kill me a-and-!" He stammered, looking around nervously in case his mysterious monster was lurking about. He gulped. "Fine, before I regret this I'll tell you, but do not say another word of this."

We nodded solemnly, encouraging him to finish. Hikaru-sensei gulped again, licking his dry lips he pulled his face up close to us. "Alright, her name is…"

Yes! Go on! Continue!

"Her name is Mit-"

"Ah, you guys! I haven't seen you guys here in such a while- dattebayo!"

_Damn you, Narutooooo!!!_ "Oh, Naruto-san! It's good to see you!"

The blonde haired boy's eyes strayed toward the ramen I was inhaling. "Are you eating ramen? The ramen here's good, isn't it- ttebayo!"

My teammates tilted away from him fighting the urge to cover their ears. I sighed and gave him a big smile. "It's delicious! Come join us!"

Naruto's eyes widened, and he smiled. "Really? Alright!" He screamed, and rushed over to the empty spot next to me, already yelling out his usual order to the old man.

I sat there stunned as I waited for the ringing noises to cease as I rubbed my sore ear hole.

I am not paying for him!

"Ah, _soukka_! Hikaru-sensei! Old man Hokage wants you for some reason so I think you should go- dattebayo!"

Said jounin stood up. "Huh? Me? Oh, okay." He glanced at our outraged faces and just shrugged. "Oh well, see ya later guys!" And with a poof, he disappeared.

"What?" Tsubasa protested as Suzumaru screeched. "Not now! Sensei come back!"

Makoto elbowed him. "Shut up, Toriwa! You're making a scene. We'll just make him tell us later!" ("But it was all Suzumaru!")

Naruto looked between us, trying to figure out what was going on. "Huh? What's going on- ttebayo?"

"Nothing."

Makoto inched towards Naruto. "Uzumaki, is it okay if I talk to you afterwards?"

Said genin jumped, not noticing her getting closer until that moment. "Eh? Huh? Why? What?" He asked with a mouth full of ramen.

"Because there is something I would like to talk to you about." She replied patiently.

The dobe blinked. "Ah, sure. Right after I'm done, okay?"

Tsubasa and I edged towards each other. "This is suspicious. What is Majikan up to?" He whispered. Suzumaru nodded his head, enraptured by this scandal.

"It can't be anything like a love confession… could it?" I murmured unsurely, still staring at the two in front of me.

"Her? Falling in love? With him?" Tsubasa–kun scoffed. He paused and considered. His thoughtful look quickly changed into a naughty grin. "Now I've got to see this."

"Ohh… This doesn't sound good. Wait!"

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

_Toshi _means age, or year

_Nomu _means swallow. I thought it kind of worked out…

_Ophidiophob _is someone who has the fear of snakes. So in Kaori's case she has _Ophidiophob-ophobia. _Which is the fear of the fear of snakes. Lol.

_Soukka _means 'I see!' or 'Is that so?' that kind of thing

So how was that? Yes, a bit long and random but what else do you want to say? Well, about Naruto and Makoto… you'll have to find out in the next chapter! Nya ha ha! So please review and I might tell you!! Ooh! I'm so evil!! :3


	10. Damn love triangles

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

_Blah _= different language

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)=Me or extra blah blahs

_Blah_= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Afterwards/Kaori's POV:**

"Move over! I can't see!"

"Sorry, but you're on my elbow."

"Shh! They'll hear us!"

"I-I r-rea-re-real-really don't t-think w-we should be d-d-doing this!"

"SHH!!!"

Were the hushed cries from a couple of bushes in a nearby field. After having ramen, Naruto and Makoto had left to talk in private, not noticing the other two members of Team Nine following them.

"A-Ano! S-s-shouldn't we j-j-just leave them a-a-a-alone?"

And Hinata.

It's kinda cool really, while we were checking up on Naruto and Makoto-- not _ahem _spying! Team Eight had apparently returned from their C-rank mission (Tsubasa gives a sly nudge and I glare in return). It's really funny how Hinata just happened to be walking this way and just happened to use her Byakugan and just happened to find us.

Wow! What a coincidence!

_Flashback:_

"Kaori! Swing your little sniffle things faster! I bet that Majikan can just smell our fear!" Tsubasa uttered from the foliage of the leaves we were hiding behind.

_I frowned, choosing not to follow his command. "Don't be so mean to her! And I don't need you to tell me how to use my weapons when I'm the only one who actually knows how to use it!"_

"_Fine, so what do you think they're going to talk about? Cause it's obviously not a love confession thing or anything like that. What are they going to do next?" He muttered curiously, peering over the leaves once more before hastily ducking back down._

"_How am I supposed to know? I'm not a psychic or a mind reader!"_

"_A-Ara? Kaori-chan! To-Toriwa-kun! W-What are you guys d-doing spying on M-Makoto-chan and _Gulp!_ N-N-N-Naru-Na-Na-Naru-Naruto-kun?"_

_We jumped and turned around to see the Hyuuga Hinata-san poking her index fingers together as she stared at us with wide eyes. _

_How can this be? We made sure that we were completely hidden! Other than our whispers, we made almost no sounds! We had checked off our security list so many times, so how did she-- Oh. She had her Byakugan on. _

_Then that doesn't count._

_I quickly took another glance at the whiskered blonde and the stoic brunette and freaked. Once they look this way, they'll easily be able to see Hinata standing like that, and then our cover's going to be blown too. Tsubasa figured this out as well._

"_Shh! Get down! Get down!" Tsubasa hissed, too winded up about this 'mission' to try to charm her at the moment. Besides, he wasn't that interested in her knowing she had a thing for Naruto._

_The shy Hyuuga gasped at his harsh command and got to her knees almost immediately._

_I gave Tsubasa a glare as I quickly apologized for the scare he had given her. Actually, I'm glad that his full-attention is on Makoto right now. _

"_Gomen ne, Hinata-chan! We're just being a couple of naughty kids who are nosily spying on our teammates!" _And your crush. _"Sorry for bothering like this! Just don't tell anyone! Please!" I whispered._

_The Hyuuga cocked her head, but nodded slowly. She made a move to stand up, until Tsubasa stopped her._

"_Stop! They're going to see you! When you leave, they'll notice you and then we'll be seen too! If you stay, I'll treat you for a date! Anywhere you want!"_

"_E-Eh?"_

_I noticed Naruto looking around. "What was that sound, dattebayo?"_

'Oh snap!'

_Tsubasa quickly shook Suzumaru awake and they were both twittering and making all these random bird sounds._

"_Oh, just a couple of birds."_

_I let out a sigh, and elbowed the Toriwa member angrily. "Tsubasa-kun! Don't try to bribe her like that! She doesn't even like you! Gomen Hinata-chan! He's just being himself! But can you please stay? We really want to see this!"_

_I noticed Tsubasa scooting over to her, grinning knowingly as he whispered in her ear. "And I'm sure you'd like to find some more info on Na-ru-to-kun!"_

_Hinata gulped, blushing a furious red. After a few more color changes, she nodded slowly and stayed where she was._

_End of flashback:_

The three of us continued to eavesdrop in on the conversation. We were close enough to hear every word they were saying.

Which meant they could easily hear us if we weren't careful.

"So what did you want to talk about- dattebayo?"

I felt sorry for poor Hinata. She must feel really guilty for spying on her crush. "Ah, Hinata-chan. I'm sorry we made you-- Ara? Hinata-chan?"

The Hyuuga heiress was actually calm and was concentrating deeply as she listened in to what they were saying.

I beamed. I always knew she was a capable ninja! And I'm glad Tsubasa-kun's here to see this!

"Hinata-chan! Sugoi! You're really great at spying! It's almost as if you spy on Naruto all the time! You're amazing!" I beamed and turned my gaze back on said Uzumaki, when I heard this shrilly squeak.

"Ara? Was that a mouse?" I asked, as I turned to my right to see a blushing Hinata. Ahh! The mouse probably scared her!

Tsubasa-kun had a brow raised as he gave a weird look to the Hyuuga. "Uh, that wasn't a mouse, Kaori…"

"Huh? Then what? Do you know, Hinata?" I asked, said girl squeaked again, similar to the mouse I had heard as she began stuttering again.

Tsubasa slapped a hand to his forehead. "Kaori, just forget it." He groaned.

I cocked my head in confusion as question marks floated over my head. "Stupid mouse is making everyone tense." I muttered darkly, and resumed to my original task. Tsubasa rolled his eyes once more before turning back to our task.

"So Naruto, how did your mission go exactly?" Makoto asked. Hmm, she makes such an innocent question sound so suspicious!

"It was awesome, of course! I was the strongest one- dattebayo!" Naruto grinned.

I couldn't help but smile. That's so Naruto!

Makoto nodded. "I see. Just how exactly are you stronger, Naruto?"

"I dunno! I'm already strong! I just got even better during the mission, obviously! Duhh!"

She glared, but let it go. "Yeah, but did anything special happen? Like some new, oh I don't know, chakra? More specifically, when you thought Uchiha died?"

'_What is she getting at?' _I leaned closer. I saw Naruto flinch as he muttered a choke. "Nothing happened! I dunno, maybe?"

"Theoretically, was it by chance in a shape of an animal-- and I repeat this is only theoretically. Maybe a fox?"

Now I have no clue what she's talking about whatsoever? Chakra in the shape of animals? What is the meaning of this?

"W-What are you saying! Are you stupid, Majikan? Tch! Foxes! I- that's- I mean, che!"

"Yes, yes. That is quite absurd." Makoto nodded. "Especially when it looks similar to the Kyuubi that attacked this village twelve years ago? You know the one that the great Fourth Hokage defeated? My theory is that he probably sealed it inside something, don't you think? Remember the story?" She asked, turning back to the ramen-loving dobe.

I could see faint beads of cold sweat dripping off of his face. "Don't deny anything Naruto, I saw it all with my eyes." She said, keeping her Bunsegan gaze fixed on the Uzumaki.

"Shut up, Majikan!" Naruto said through gritted teeth. "You don't know anything."

I heard a small shuffle from my left and turned to see Tsubasa scooting closer and closer to the duo.

"Tsubasa-kun! What are you doing? Are you trying to get caught?" I hissed.

He continued to scoot up. "This is getting interesting. I just want to hear better. Don't worry!"

"Stop it! You're going to get us all caught! Help me Hina-- Hinata-chan! What are you doing?"

The Hyuuga wordlessly edged closer and closer up. She seems to agree with Tsubasa's logic as well.

"Mou! You two are going to give me a full head of white hairs!" I moaned, and shuffled closer as well.

"Don't talk as if you think you know everything, Majikan. Because whatever it is, you're wrong!" Naruto whispered.

Naruto-san's being a bit out of character here! Whoa, Makoto-chan! This is getting intense!

"I don't think I'm wrong. In fact, I'll get to the point now." Makoto said, not fazed at all. I gulped, consumed by this mystery. I could see Hinata stiffening and Tsubasa edging yet closer.

"Naruto, you have the Nine-Tailed Fox sealed inside of you, don't you? Let me tell you that whatever your answer is, I will not tell a soul, nor will I treat you differently. So answer. Yes, or no?"

Naruto gulped. And finally answered. "Yeah… I do."

"What? Oh snaps!" _Thump! _"Whoa!"_ Thud! _"Kya!"_ Foomp!_

I groaned as I got up from the ground, rubbing my sore head.

Tsubasa-kun laughed, forgetting the situation at the moment. He was feeling thrilled and refreshed at the rush of air when we fell. His fanaticism being that it was his first time falling. "Kaori-chan, you baka! Don't grab onto us when you fall!" He scolded lightly as I apologized repeatedly. "That was so much fun! Now I see why you do it all the time!"

Blushing, I ignored him and turned to our team eight member "Sorry… Hinata-chan, are you okay?"

"Mou! What about me, Kaori-chan! You're so mean! Haha, you're starting to become more and more like Majikan!"

"I didn't think I was ever so bad, Toriwa. Now why exactly are you guys spying on us?"

"What are you guys doing, dattebayo!"

I gulped and turned around to see a sweaty and panicked Naruto next to a more than angry Makoto.

"Ma-Makoto-chan! I'm so sorry! It's not what it looks like! We were just, I mean definitely not Hinata-chan, but Tsubasa-kun and I were, well we were just, I mean it's just that, I-I!" I stuttered, as rivers of tears poured from my eyes. "Don't hate meeeeeeeeeeeee!"

Tsubasa wasn't worried in contrast to my own panicked state and he still kept his composure. Suzumaru-kun seemed to be indicating Tsubasa's possibly true thoughts as he flapped around and twittered nervously. Tsubasa translated for us. "It was all her idea! She dragged us into this! Blame her! Blame her!"

"WHAT? Tsubasa-kun! You liar! That's not true! Don't believe him, Makoto-chan! He's lying! This whole act has his name written all over it!"

"Traitor! And wait, it was Suzumaru!"

"Speak for yourself! You're the one who tried to pin the blame on me!"

"Again, it was the _bird."_

Makoto sighed, rubbing her temples as she shook her head wearily, while Naruto gulped as he stared Hinata down, much to her guilt and embarrassment. "Just how much did you hear?" My teammate asked.

Tsubasa-kun and I paused from our bickering. "Ah, all of it."

…

Oh.

Snaps.

Our heads zipped up to see Naruto gritting his teeth in anger and traces of fear as he continued to scrutinize the Hyuuga down. I turned my heads towards Makoto who was sighing and she muttered an "I knew it."

Four pairs of eyes turned towards her. "What?"

This time Makoto snorted. "It was so obvious that you two would follow us! You guys are the most nosiest people I know, plus with all your giggling and whispers, any deaf person could've easily found you by ear!" She paused, ignoring Naruto who was fibbing about how he also knew. "Although I am rather surprised to find Hyuuga here."

The Hyuuga heiress uttered a squeak, as she fiddled with her fingers, stuttering out words to explain herself.

Wait… that squeak.

"The mouse!" I cried, pointing my finger madly at the violet-haired beauty. "Was it you?"

Tsubasa let out a baffled gasp as he fell to the ground. "Kaori! You're so slow! And you said that as a question! That means you still weren't sure!" He accused, showing a bit more frustration. "Just what kind of a ninja are you?"

I gave the Toriwa member a rather icy look as he finally calmed himself down. "Just what are you implying?"

"Nothing. Just be a good girl and pay attention to things so that you'll have a bright future ahead of you."

"Jeez, you suddenly turned into a mother."

"Thanks to you, I have to be act like one."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing at all."

We heard a cough and I blinked when I heard it again. I looked up to see a fatigued Makoto who was still blinking over the rapid topic changes.

"Ah, sorry. Continue." We mumbled.

Makoto let out an agitated humph. "Now, explain yourselves."

'_It's a little late, don't you think?' _

I sighed, and complied.

The whole explanation took about another thirty minutes, believe it or not. Especially since Tsubasa-kun and I would interrupt each other every five or so minutes and argue at some points, occasionally straying from the topic. I did whatever I could to cover for Hinata, who was stumbling over her side of the story with guilt evident through her body language.

"Ano…" I heard a soft voice say after our confession. I turned my attention towards Hinata, who was looking softly at Naruto. "D-Do you r-r-r-really have the K-K-Kyu-Kyuubi sealed in-in-inside of you N-N-Naruto-kun?"

Silence.

Naruto kept his gaze towards the ground as his knuckles turned pale from his tight grip. After a few dry gulps, he finally answered. "Yeah. Yeah, I do. I can understand if you guys hate me. But it's okay. I'm used to it."

"Are you really as stupid as people say?" Tsubasa asked, returning back to his calm state, but he was still annoyed over everything. "Why would we hate you?"

"W-What? But I have the demon fox sealed in me! The one that attacked the village twelve years ago!" He protested, showing his obvious disbelief. "People still call me monster!"

"So…" I started. "You want us to hate you?" I asked, confused. I'm trying to put two and two together, but they're like not clicking. I scratched my head. "Wow, you _are _different! But are you sure?"

"No! It's just that- well, you might- I mean, I just assumed-!"

"Y-You know… I've always considered N-N-Naruto-kun as a f-friend, even if he doesn't think so of m-me." Hinata mumbled. Keeping her head low. "I wouldn't ever hate N-Naruto-kun because he is so d-d-dear to me. I'll still l-like Naruto-kun no matter what other people say or think."

All attention was turned towards the Hyuuga heiress who still had not realized that she had actually voiced her thoughts.

"That… That was beautiful, Hinata-chan! I… I actually feel some tears coming…"

"Me too. You're secret's safe with us."

"I'm okay with it too."

Hinata flushed, realizing that she had blurted out most of her hidden feelings for the blonde Uzumaki. "A-Ano! I didn't m-mean to, I-I mean I did mean it, b-b-but w-w-what I meant to say w-w-was…! A-ano…! I-I didn't…!"

Naruto stared at her strangely. "Do you really think that Hinata?"

"A-Ah,_ gulp!_ H-H-Hai!"

Tsubasa grinned, pointing to himself. "I think so too- _mmfh_!"

"Ah, gomen! We have a strict schedule, and we have to go now!" Makoto said. Keeping both of our hands clamped over Tsubasa's mouth.

I nodded. "So many things, so little time. I mean phew! Well, we're not going to tell anyone anything so don't worry! Now bye!" And we dragged the bird boy away before the couple could say anything.

We finally permitted the Toriwa to breathe once we were out of their sight but still in hearing range, which meant we were behind the bushes again. "What the heck did you do that for?" He hissed.

"You were ruining the mood!" I whispered back. "That dense idiot might finally realize that Hinata actually lo… actually lov… actually _like-likes _him!" Call me immature, but love is not exactly a word that I find myself saying a lot.

"You're so immature, Kaori." Makoto sighed. _I didn't really mean it!_

"Kaori doesn't know what love is!" Tsubasa sang gleefully.

"What would you know, Toriwa? You're not that far off from Kaori."

"What are you talking about? I know what it means!"

Makoto snorted. "Oh please! You go out with girls left and right, never actually getting anywhere because you keep dumping them for another!"

"So? I at least know what a relationship is! What would you know?" Tsubasa retorted hotly.

"I think we should just let them have their alone time!" I whispered before the fight could continue. "Can we go home now?"

_Thud!_

"O-Oi… Hinata? Are you okay? Oi! Hinata! Wake up-- ttebayo!"

…

Oh my god, she fainted before they actually got anywhere.

'_No wait! That means he can carry her!'_ I smiled. "Come on guys, let's go!"

"Eh? But she fainted! I know I've told you countless times to be more malicious, but why do you pick now of all times to be uncaring?"

"So that Naruto can care for her in our place." Makoto answered.

Blank stare. Blank stare. Ding!

"Ahh! I got it, I got it!" Tsubasa grinned. Wow, he's been rather clueless today, he must be having an off day. Or having a lot of 'sensei moments.'

We crept away, leaving the two potential lovebirds in peace. "So… you're still a softie, Kaori-chan."

"Hey!"

Once we were out of the forest, I sighed happily. A lot had actually happened on this supposedly boring day. We finally had time to hang out and eat ramen; we made better friends with two people; found out a few thing about Hikaru-sensei (Who is this 'Mit' person?); we were keeping a secret for Naruto; and we also helped out Hinata with said boy!

But… I just can't shake this feeling that I'm forgetting something.

**The next day/Kaori's POV:**

"Kiba-san, get off! I said I was sorry!" I screamed, feeling the pressure of his weight pushing me down.

Kiba sat where he was, on my back. "Do you have any idea how long Akamaru and I were waiting at the training grounds yesterday? You didn't even come! You totally stood us up!" He barked.

I was too busy thinking about all these secrets that I completely forgot that I had a sparring session with Kiba.

"I thought you were still at your mission!" I tried again to push myself up, but it was no use. Damn, he's heavy!

"Yeah right, liar! Naruto came up to me and Shino with Hinata last night, and he said that you were with them a while ago!"

'_Damn it Naruto! You're supposed to carry her home, not dump her on another teammate!' _

"I'm sorry! A lot happened yesterday! I forgot!! I'm sorry! Come on, let's just forget and spar again!"

"You broke tradition! I can't let you off easily after that!" He grinned, and added. "Besides, I won this fight."

"You snuck up on me! We weren't even fighting before you pinned me down!" I protested, slapping the ground with each word for emphasis.

"A ninja must always be alert."

"Oh, alert my ass! You cheated! Now seriously get off! Kiba-san!"

"Not until you admit I won!" He sang. He turned toward his canine friend. "Looks like we're gonna be here for a while, eh Akamaru?"

"Ugh! But you're so heavy!" I whined, making another attempt to get up. Damn it. I need to start doing push-ups again. "Get off of me! Please? Kiba-san!"

"I'm only going to get heavier if you don't admit that I won!"

"_What?"_

He grinned and picked up a small boulder about the size of my head and placed it on his lap.

"Oh! Ow ow ow ow ow! That's not fair! This is blackmail!" I said through gritted teeth. "Where did you even get that?"

He shrugged as he picked up another big hunk of rock and placed it on my back. ("Unngh!") "The Hokage monument. I planned ahead." He said, as he showed me a bag full of big rocks.

"You dork! What's wrong with you! You're such a- HUUUGH! I-I… can't b-b-breathe!" I wheezed as Kiba placed more weights on my back.

"Admit that I won, Ka-o-ri!" He grinned. Oh! I can so tell he's enjoying this.

I twisted my head around to look at what he was doing. Oh, look at that! He's making a pyramid! How creative!

Sarcasm.

"Ugh, f-fine! You… w-win!" I puffed. "A-A-Air…!"

The pressure was soon lifted, and I gratefully inhaled the air my lungs were craving. "Akamaru-kun." I called out with a grunt and a few crackle sounds came from my back as I pushed myself upright. Said dog walked over, curious. "Don't ever be like your owner."

"Bwa ha ha, that's his choice, not yours Kaori!" Kiba laughed, oblivious to the extreme pain I was in.

Maybe I should try the guilt thing.

"Ugh…"

Kiba rolled his eyes. "Oh, stop exaggerating! Don't act like this is your last moment or something!" He chided, finding my actions ridiculous.

"Blegh…"

"Stop being like an idiot and get up!" He commanded, having enough.

I sighed, and sat up. Obviously the guilt trip wasn't working. See? He has no heart!

It was a lost cause anyways. "Oh by the way, how did your mission go?"

"It was boring." He sighed as he leaned heavily into a tree. "We just had to guide some old lady to the Tea Country. You?"

"A family to the Hay. Which included a pregnant woman." I sighed, wincing at the memories of midwife-ing I had to do.

Kiba's eyes widened and he jolted upright, motioning for me to stop right there.

I shut my mouth, giggling over his discomfort. "You're just like Tsubasa-kun! He called himself a premature male!"

Kiba frowned, unhappy with the comment. I shrugged it off.

"A-ah, Ka-Kaori-chan! O-over here!"

I smiled and looked up. "Ah, Hinata-chan! Hey!" I grinned as the Hyuuga rushed towards us. It looked like she was looking for us for a while.

"Ano! Kaori-chan! Y-Your sensei's been l-l-looking for you." She stuttered, after exchanging greetings with Kiba and Akamaru.

I blinked. '_What could this be about_?' I shrugged. "Alright, but before I leave…" I quickly pulled the shy Hyuuga aside and out of Kiba's hearing range. "Soooo, how was your date yesterday? With Na-ru-to-kun!" I giggled as her face instantly flushed. "Ne? You have to tell me the details, friend! Word for word! Was it romantic?"

"K-Ka-K-Kaori-chan! A-Ah! It was n-nothing like t-t-that! Y-you were there t-too! W-We! I mean, well he…!"

I pressed my finger to my lips prompting her to lower her volume as I noticed Kiba shifting closer to listen in on the news. He looked angry. Oh god, I hope he didn't hear!

"Kaori! Where are you? If you can hear me, then get your little Amakusu butt over here! Where the heck are you? Oi! KAORI!" Hikaru-sensei's voice rang out clearly, looking for me without actually looking for me.

I'll ignore him for now. What matters now is the gossip.

I hastily turned around. Despite being embarrassed by my teacher's antics, I wanted to resume my part in the conversation with Hinata.

"Oi! What exactly are you talking about that I can't hear?" Kiba complained, sour that he was left out of a secret.

Guilty, I gave him an apologetic smile. It _was_ rather rude to leave him out like this. "I'm sorry. But it's a long story. Besides, it's Hinata's secret, so she should be the one to tell you, don't you think?"

"She's my teammate, I deserve to know!" He said hotly. "I heard the words 'Date' and 'Romantic'. Why? What's going on?"

Hinata squeaked, as her face reddened. I started getting angry and said the first thing that came to my mind in hopes of sticking up for my Hyuuga friend. "Why? Are you jealous or something?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I- that's not- no way! Right, Akamaru- I mean! Not of _her_!" He stammered, with a light blush on his features.

My eyes widened and I could feel my heart sinking steadily as Kiba's gaze kept shifting all over. To Hinata, it looked like he was mad about being left out, but I'm sure I know what it really was.

Jealousy…

Does that mean Kiba has a crush Hinata?

"**DAMN IT! Kaori!!! If you don't get your little ass over here in the next five fucking seconds, I'll fucking strangle you until your scrawny neck is no thicker than a goddamn, small-ass straw!! Get over here NOW!!!" **

I didn't care that sensei went into dark mode or how Kiba was staring and how Hinata was quivering in fear as my teacher's language continued to steadily worsen.

Honestly, I didn't really care what sensei was going to do to me. My thoughts were focused on the love triangle that was twisting its way through our lives.

What was even worse, I realized, was that I was the dead last. I liked Kiba when he liked Hinata, and she to Naruto; this left me as the loner, dead last, and the one that no one… _wanted_. This arrangement actually didn't really surprise me, but it still hurt. So, _so _much, and I felt petty for admitting it.

But even if Hinata did like Naruto, Kiba still deserves the chance to chase after her with no worries, right? If he was going to do that, then that means that I shouldn't tell Kiba how I…

I gave a slight chuckle. Wanting desperately to rid, or at least hide, from the pain. "I guess I have to go now! Haha, I can't wait to see sensei's face now!" I said giggling frivolously. '_Ahh that sounded so fake…'_ I should get out of here."So, I'll see you guys later!"

They blinked in confusion. Kiba cocked his head, looking unsure. "What's wrong? Kaori?"

Damn it all. He noticed. Why is it that he can always tell if it's something's big?

I smiled. "Oh nothing! I'm just scared of what will happen if I do go to Hikaru-sensei. Sorry, but I gotta go!" And I rushed off before they could stop me.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**So how was that chapter? A bit rushed, but okay, right? I think I made Kaori a little **_**too **_**slow with the mouse bit. And I'm starting to feel guilty for hurting her. Augh. I think I'm turning evil (-er than I already am). I should make the next chapter more happy-ish to make it up. Augh. If you want to prove me wrong or agree that I'm really evilly evil, please review!! I'd like to know your opinions so that I can improve!! Thanks again for reading!!! **


	11. A total spoilsport

Disclaimer: I'm exclaiming in my disclaimer that I haven't done a disclaimer yet, so I'm sorry. So I don't own Naruto, because if I did, I would've totally ruined it. For that, I'm feeling really grateful for Masashi Kishimoto.

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

_Blah _= different language

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)=Me or extra blah blahs

_Blah_= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

**The next day/Kaori's POV:**

I hurried to Rookie Nine's training post the next day. I had overslept, again, and I'm now late, again. But it wasn't my fault, again. It was our day-off!

… again.

'_Well, considering how it was sensei's fault I'm late, I shouldn't get in too much trouble._' I calculated.

Last night, Hikaru-sensei went all the way into stupid dark mode just because I let Naruto eat his nasty lemon ramen thing ("This is actually pretty good- ttebayo!"). I had to buy countless number of bowls just to pacify him and he's such a slow eater. It was already past my bedtime by the time he was on his second bowl, and I couldn't pay beforehand because I wasn't sure how many Hikaru-sensei would get at the time. I'm really regretting taking everyone out in the first place.

'_But on the plus side, it kept you from thinking about everything yesterday!' _My inner stated in a hopeful tone.

"Yeah." That's true. Too many things happened yesterday and it's really hurting my… head.

Makoto looked up once I came into view. "You're late."

I winced at her bland tone. They must've been waiting for a while.

I gave her a weak smile. "I'm sorry."

"Kaori-chan! There you are! What took you so long?" Tsubasa-kun greeted with little Suzumaru in toll. "You look so gloomy!" He asked.

"Ah, gomen. I overslept." I shrugged. He nodded, deciding not to push it.

"**You must pay with your blood!!!"**

And Hikaru-sensei seems more impatient than usual.

I smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry. I'll tell mama to make some lemonade or something for you."

"Alright! On to business!" That same teacher clapped his hands for authority. His once scary demonic features changing to that of his normal placid yet very dim visage.

Che. It's so easy to get around sensei. After all, I _am _his favorite student…

… By default… But it still means I'm special!

The thought of that cheered me up some.

"Sensei's acting like more of an idiot than usual." Makoto-chan stated, with Tsubasa nodding in agreement.

"So what exactly is this 'Oh so important announcement that we must hear?" Tsubasa asked while I bit out of the apple I had snatched just for the heck of it.

Sensei instantly turned serious, as he remembered his duties. "Alright, listen closely, you three. I realized that you three are growing and improving so I decided not to hold you back."

"Okay." _'Haa?'_

"So I've entered you into the Chuunin Exams! Baum bada baum baum BAUM!" He sang, waving a big banner that said 'Chuunin exams!!!_ YAAAY_!!! Congratulations!!! LOVE PREVAILS!!!' in big, bright bubble letters.

Apple enters breathing hole. "Huuughk! Haaack! Kaaf! Haaaaachkk!"

"… Wait, what? I wasn't listening." Tsubasa-kun cut in, confused as he looked at his surroundings: streamers, balloons, confetti, and a choking Amakusu.

After my fifth attempt at the Heimlich maneuver, the apple flew out of my mouth with an "ErkhgerupopohhqwerHHK!" or some other extremely unpleasant noise and I was finally able to breathe.

"Boo hoo hooo… nobody listens to meeee…" Sensei blubbered, oblivious to all else as he crouched pitifully. "They all hate meee… everyone hates meeee…. And I worked sooooo hard to prepare this party tooooo…"

"_Sigh_! Don't cry again… Tsubasa, you idiot! Look what you did." Makoto scolded, showing more life after being caught off-guard with the news.

"Boo hoo hooo…"

Oh, sensei. Out of all the people here, I feel the least loved.

…

And I was talking about how no one noticed my near-death experience.

Not Kiba.

_Damn it_, now I'm thinking about him.

"Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute! We get to be in the Chuunin Exams? No way!"

"Oh, whatever gave you _that_ idea, I wonder if it was from that biiiiiiig sign with the words 'Chuunin Exams! Wowsers!' written all over it in bubble letters! Great job, Toriwa! I didn't think you had the brain capacity to figure _that _out!" Makoto exclaimed sarcastically.

"Shut up, Majikan! I didn't- Hey! Don't agree with her, Suzumaru!"

I couldn't help but feel a smile coming at this commotion. Makoto and Tsubasa were arguing again, but this fight was more lighthearted and teasing, even Hikaru-sensei stopped crying and was passing out drinks.

"Eh? Kaori! Why do you look so glum? I thought you'd be the happiest out of all of us!" Sensei shouted, making sure I could hear over the other two's playful banters.

My eyes widened. "Me?"

"How could I let you look so sad when you're my favorite student?" Hikaru-sensei asked. For once, seeming mature. "After all these two are always so quiet and _mean._"

"Oh! I really am?"

They nodded and I colored, instantly feeling shame. Was I really the only one who was ruining the mood? This ironic change of characteristics had really done a dramatic job.

Oh no… I can't ruin this for them.

I blinked, as if I was zoned out and smiled a big one. "Haha, sorry! I was just tired and stuff! I just- I… Thank you…" I smiled, reaching out to hug them all. Even Makoto-chan hugged me back awkwardly.

They still looked unsure, but I smiled and brushed it off. "I'm okay guys, really!" I turned to sensei before they could see anything else. "Thanks for letting us do this, sensei! I can't wait!" I kept my grin. That much was true.

"You're welcome."

I laughed again. It's ridiculous. He trusts us so much that he signed us up to fight for our lives in a deadly, life-threatening fight arena just because he knows we'll live! How sweet! And everyone's so happy!

'_I am not going to spoil everything just because of Kiba!' _I declared forcefully, as I put up a more determined exterior.

Why did I even like that him in the first place? I mean he can be such a jerk sometimes… Even though I know he's only joking.

And he's not even that good-looking… Because there's way more to him than that, and he's insanely hot and adorable at the same time.

And he's so mean… Despite always knowing when I was down and cheering me up each time.

He also has a terrible personality… When all he cares about is his dog and his friends

And he always has to show off just because he's so great.

…

Damn it!

'_I'm just going to just treat him like another person!' _Cheers! _'My crush on Kiba is officially gone! I will never think about him again!'_

"I wonder who else is in the exams." Tsubasa muttered. "Are we going to be the only rookies? Hey Kaori, do you think Inuzuka-kun's in it too?"

WHAT THE HELL DID I JUST SAY?

"How would I know? I'm not a psychic!" I forced a giggle. The other two exchanged a look before talking amongst themselves.

"So sensei?" I asked, taking a sip of juice. "When exactly is the Chuunin Exams?"

"I think in a few months or something!"

"…"

I cocked my head and swallowed awkwardly. Knowing his tendencies to over exaggerate… "When you say that do you mean next month or something? Why are we celebrating it now? In fact, shouldn't we be training?"

Sensei shrugged. "I felt like having a party so I decided to get together today." He grinned, prompting us to do the same.

"So…" Makoto started. "You wasted our training time just because you were bored?" She groused, more than annoyed.

Hikaru-sensei paused, and his face held a thoughtful look. "Ah, if you put it that way…"

"I'm leaving."

"Me too. I'm outta here. Let's go Suzu, I think sis's sleeping so we can steal some snacks from her. It's almost training!" Tsubasa grinned, jumping high into the air at the thought of seeing his precious sister.

"Ahh, don't get so mad at me! I thought you'd all like it!" Hikaru-sensei whined. "Hey! Stay!"

'_Poor sensei!' _I thought helplessly. "Gomen! I have to run some errands for my mom. Maybe we can celebrate on the actual day of our exams? We can just train next time…?" I suggested hopefully. _'Please don't cry. Please don't cry. Please don't cry…'_

Hikaru-sensei grinned, brightening up at the thought of another party. "Alright! Ja ne!"

_Phew_. I smiled. He took that well! "Bye, guys! Good-bye Hikaru-sensei!"

"Bye-bye!"

I smiled to myself and just went on home. I had lied about the errands, and my mom was the one out shopping. I creeped down the wooden hallway slowly, feeling drained. Upon entering my room, I made a move to crawl beneath the covers of my bed, clothes and all, just wanting to _think._

I hated it. I hated how everyone actually had to go through the effort of cheering me up. It wasn't supposed to happen. I was supposed to be happy… but how could I let them see me upset in the first place?

I bit my lip. It hurt that they cared. They worried but to me it barely mattered because they weren't Kiba. Kiba-san didn't like me like that and it was all I cared about. I gave another sigh.

Was I really that infatuated? He doesn't see me in that light. That much I should get over. So why did I care so much about him? Why can't it stop?

I just… can't let this continue.

_I'm sorry, guys. I'll be happy again tomorrow. I won't let it happen again. I promise._

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**So how was that chapter? Pretty good? Did it suck like crazy? Oh, just review your thoughts to me. Anyways, sorry for the delay of updates folks! I first started out with a writers block, and then I got kinda lazy so… I'm sorry! I keep promising myself to update quickly and then I fail once more!! You can use me as a practice target for cyber kung fu or something! I deserve it!!! **

**And please review!**


	12. Feathers: The Finest Shinobi weapon yet

Disclaimer: I'm back! And I'm here to say that I do not own Naruto! Bahh… this is getting boring already. XP

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

_Blah _= different language

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)=Me or extra blah blahs

_Blah_= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

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**Training/Kaori's:**

His piercing blue eyes gazed around the area in heavy concentration, searching me out through the leafy foliage of the forests around us. I slowed my breathing, doing so to decrease my heart rate. I had to do whatever I could to hide my presence and I continued to breathe deeply as I twirled my aromatic slashers calmly.

When my attacker was looking away, I threw a cannonade of needles towards my opponent. He noticed this and dodged it with inhuman speed, his eyes now fixated on the tree I was currently hiding behind. He and his animal familiar flew towards my location and blocked a kick. The boy smirked, and grabbed onto my leg, throwing me into the treetop to ensure less damage upon me.

I hid a smile as I picked myself up, walking down the trunk easily thanks to the tree-climbing jutsu. "I should've known you'd be able to see those senbon needles with those eyes of yours, Tsubasa-kun."

I frowned. "But you didn't have to throw me into the leaves. Did you forget who I am? A healer? More specifically an Amakusu member? _Ahem!_ Of course I'd be fine! So don't go easy on me again!"

Tsubasa grinned, his face leopard from the bits of sun that peeked through the shade of the trees. "I can't help it if I care for you too much! You're just so _precious_!"

I rolled my eyes at his teasing. "Oh shut up! If you can't take me seriously on your own, then I'm going to have to force you!" And with that, I did a series of hand seals as I made several clones of myself, immediately running towards my teammate. He dodged every hit (A/N: Imaaaaginary hits!) My bunshins could offer, as he was still unsure which were the illusions and which one was actually me.

I managed to sneak behind him and with another hand seal as I yelled. "Bakuhatsu no Jutsu!" and planted my hand firmly on his back… or so I had hoped.

For instead of a Toriwa, a log flew from my blast and cracked into many pieces. Tsubasa on the other hand, was nowhere to be found. _'Everyone keeps doing the same thing!' _

"Aww! Our little Kaori is finally fighting like a big girl and trying to hurt me! I'm so proud of you!" His voice taunted, echoing from all directions.

I could feel the anger marks erupt on my head. "Shut up! I'll find you! I guarantee it! Just do me a favor and fight me seriously already!"

Tsubasa flew down from wherever he was just now, and smirked. "If you say so, Kaori." He made a few hand signs and said, "_Hane Furu no Jutsu."_

Crap.

Oh crap. Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap.

This could get dangerous.

I have to choose my next decision wisely if I want to survive.

So, I bolted.

I jumped out of the way as a countless number sharp feathers quivered into the air. With Tsubasa's chakra fueling it, he locked the sharp quills onto their target.

And you can bloody guess who that is.

So now I'm frantically running away from crazy heat-chakra-sensor bird things that are out not to assassinate me, but to tickle me under Tsubasa's orders.

Did you know that's called pteronophobia? Being tickled by feathers?

Everyone seems to know I'm ticklish!

Anyways, back to the subject at hand. I'm still running and there are less feathers (Argh) now because I threw a few kunai with exploding tags at the cluster and after nicking one, it set off a giant blast and so to put it quickly, 'feather go boom, feather now dead.'

"Tsubasa-kun, shame on you! Sitting there like you have nothing to do, and making me run around with feathers chasing me! I hate you!"

He just yawned, as he and Suzumaru continued to watch my chase. "No you don't. Besides, you might encounter these things during a real mission. It's good to prepare."

"Liar! You just thought of that right now!"

"Oh, oh, watch out! In front of you! There's a-!"

_BAM!_

"Oooh! Face plant into a tree! That's gotta hurt!"

"Damn well it did! You're a terrible sparring partner!"

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**Afterwards:**

"_Huff… huff… _I hate… you so… so much…"

After I finally killed all the feathers, I once again pounced on Tsubasa, growling with vengeance as we continued to wrestle and land blows on each other. This had been going on for the last maybe 45 minutes and we were now laying side by side, taking a long break in prep for our next fight.

Tsubasa rolled his eyes as he turned his head to face me with a smile. "It's… okay… I know you… you don't… mean that…" He wheezed, he lifted his hand to tap my head, but dropped it limply. Finding even that task too much of an effort to follow through. Suzumaru, on the other hand, twittered around us, as he still seemed to have an unlimited amount of energy left in him. Stupid birds.

I snuck a glance over at Tsubasa. His chakra level was near zero.

I considered giving him my chakra. I mastered how to transmit my chakra through both animated and inanimate objects a long time ago, and he might need it…

I groaned. Blah, forget that. I'll do it later.

I continued to look at the sky from my laying position; it got a little bit darker, as the sky started to sink past afternoon mode. It was at the borderline between afternoon and evening. "_Heh… _Makoto-chan… _heh…_ sure is missing out on a lot of… _heh… _fun right now…"

Tsubasa shrugged, not finding her absence too surprising. "Her family's teaching her politics or something. I mean, the Majikan clan's pretty powerful internationally too."

"And Hikaru-sensei's being chased by 'Her'." I added. 'Her' or 'She' was the new name for the person that was chasing after Hikaru-sensei. So far, that and "Mit-" was the only thing we really knew about her.

"Yup."

I gave a happy sigh as my face held on a thoughtful look. "Wow… This was one of the most fun training sessions I've had since Kiba-san. I mean with you, I can focus on long distance attacks, close-range, and genjutsu. With Kiba-san I could only use ninjutsu and taijutsu. And we all know my genjutsu skills aren't very sufficient."

It had been a few days since that time with everyone. After avoiding Kiba for a while, I found that I could talk about him again. My friends seemed to sense this, as they didn't ask questions. "This was really fun."

Tsubasa blinked solemnly, actually listening to what I have to say. "You felt like he was improving more than you were."

I nod. "Yeah sort of. I mean, I haven't sparred with him in a while, but he was still a worthy opponent to fight. I mean, he's really strong, so I can never win a match twice in a row. I've always had fun trying to think of a plan to beat him. It was great, he was a challenge."

Tsubasa-kun said nothing as he thought about what I said.

"I might be going overboard on this, and thank you for hearing me out on this, but I sometimes think he sees me more as a training tool or something to laugh at than a friend. He's always the first to tease me. But I never really cared. So he probably finds no challenge from me whatsoever. It's annoying how I let him get away with things. I find it kind of hard to say no to him." After telling myself this many times, it didn't hurt as much and I found it easier to accept. "Terrible, isn't he?" I laughed.

Laughing. That was all I seemed to be doing these days.

Tsubasa sighed, considering my words thoughtfully. "So you like him. For how long?"

"_Liked._" I pushed. He raised a brow and I shrugged. "Well, for a few months, anyway."

"Does he know?"

"Nope. Not a clue." I heaved a sigh myself. Not really sure why I was telling him this. "And he doesn't need to either because I already know he doesn't see me like that."

"I don't know... Are you sure?" I nodded. "What makes you think that?"

I gave a half-hearted smile as I turn my head to face Tsubasa once more. "As far as I know, he likes Hinata-chan. So I should at least let him be happy pursuing her. Even though we all know she likes Naruto-san."

"Was that why you were so depressed that one time?"

My breathing hitched for a second. He must still be on the party... I once again felt the guilt creep up before nodding.

"That bastard! I can't believe he didn't... but you don't know for sure if...!" My friend looked really angry before he stopped himself, thinking better of it. "I'm sorry... But still, that's very... I guess, noble of you."

I jolted forward, surprising Tsubasa, as he cautiously sat up as well. "Noble? Uhh, not really! If I did tell him, then it would create all this unnecessary drama, make him uncomfortable, and then I'd be the one getting hurt! I'm supposed to be from a healing clan, and I'm afraid to get hurt! Haha! Noble, my ass!"

He looked sad now. "Kaori..."

I shook my head and made a move to heal him, wanting to at least keep my hands busy during my counseling session. "Who else knows by the way?" I asked, as his chakra coils began to fill up with my own chakra.

"Just me and Majikan. But that's only because we know you best. Otherwise, you're good at hiding these things." He frowned. "Too good. Are you sure you don't want to tell him?"

"Definitely." I furrowed my brows. I was suddenly feeling scared for a moment. "You're not going to tell anyone, right Tsubasa-kun?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Of course! And same with Majikan and Suzumaru."

"Okay, thanks." There was a pause. "Hahaha! Noble! That still cracks me up!"

"…"

My laughter died with each awkward look my friend gave me. "Okay, I'm done." He gave me the face of a skeptic as one last giggle escaped my lips. "No, really! I am!"

Tsubasa grinned, probably guessing I was still feeling a bit miserable as he joked. "Well, don't worry! Hinata should like me just as much as she likes old Naruto, so Kiba has competition! There's still hope for you!"

"I assure you, that's definitely not going happen."

"But Kaori...!"

"I actually feel bad because I was avoiding him too." Tsubasa rolled his eyes at my concern. "I think I'm finally ready to talk to him again, I mean I like being in the 'just friends' zone with him." I gave a chuckle. "But right now, all I'm really trying to do is get over him, you know?"

"Still! You can't be too sure, Kaori-chan."

I shrugged.

Tsubasa snickered, a mischievous light playing in his eyes. "You know, if Naruto won't take Hinata, we all know he still has Sasuke."

'_Back in the academy!' _I snorted. "Oh, don't say that! Hinata-chan would be devastated! That's terrible!" I giggled despite myself.

A smirk appeared. "Still, you gotta consider the possibilities."

I couldn't stop laughing. Even though his method was terrible, it was real sweet of him to cheer me up like that. And it worked. "I can't believe you! Seriously, just give it up! I'm fine!"

He gave me an amused grin as he stood up, deciding not to pursue the topic further for my sake. "Then shall we continue our joust, mistress?"

I beamed at him, and grabbed his arm to hoist me up. "Yes, we shall, kind sir!"

Once we were in ready position, Tsubasa said a few familiar words and made more feathers as they begin to zoom in on their opponent. Which is once again, me.

"Aww! Come on! Not again! Tsubasa-kun! I want my chakra back, you backstabber!"

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_Hane Furu no Jutsu: _Means Feather Rainfall, or Rainfall of feathers. Hane meaning feather, Furu meaning fall (the rainy or snowy kind) and I'm sure you guys can figure out 'Jutsu'

**I noticed that this chapter seemed like a kind of KaorixTsubasa-ish moment, but trust me this ficcy is going to end up KibaxKaori in the end (I don't know when that'll happen, but it'll happen!). So I'll make sure to add Kiba in the next chapter (maybe in a sort of antagonist light, hmm…) Kekekekeke, review and I'll see what I can do!**

**I'll update after two months! I have a wedding and a program to attend on the other side of the world (Korea is kinda on the other side of America right?) So have a great summer! Thanks for reading! Please review me!**

**And I was kidding in the disclaimer. I really do own every newbie that came up, it just felt like something fun to say (type?) XD**

**REVIEW!!!**


	13. Why you shouldn't cheat

Blah= whatever

"Blah"= talking

_Blah _= different language

'_Blah'_= thinking or emphasis

(Blah)=Me or extra blah blahs

_Blah_= Flashbacks

**Blah**= Change of place, time, and POVs

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------/

**Chuunin Exams/Kaori's POV:**

I sat in my assigned seat, fighting off the urge to shiver as my eyes flitted over to the frightening genin seated next to me before fixating my gaze at the front, then to Tsubasa, Makoto, etc- before returning to my desk partner, and back to my test paper.

I inhaled deeply as I tried to bring out the more cheerful disposition I had before strolling into the room for the Chuunin Exams with Tsubasa and Makoto. After just simply walking past the illusion made by some other genin (although Makoto is convinced that they were illusions of some kind as well) we strolled into the room along with the majority of the people I knew from academy days. It was a pleasant surprise and I actually had some ounce of confidence before that Jounin examinor came and ruined it.

_Flashback:_

_I sighed, we had just passed by the two rude little genin/illusions/chuunins/etc. and my teammates continued to pester me with their warnings and whatnots as we walked down the corridor._

_"And remember, there are a lot of competitors from other countries so you have to watch out for different techniques. There will be a lot of jutsus you've never even dreamed of!" Tsubasa advised, pausing to observe other genins who were entering the exams, particularly those of the female gender._

_"But because of that, we have an advantage as we should know the landscape here better." Makoto added, rolling her eyes at the Toriwa, who had winked at an earth ninja earning flirtatious giggles in return._

_"Oh, and you must be prepared to face any attackers and fight through an unbelievable amount of ambushes or other brawls along the way, Kaori-chan."_

_"Considering the fact that you're the healer of our squad, our lives solely depend on you to survive, so you have to be extra careful, now."_

_"Even though there's not as much of a need, since you're an Amakusu and all- but still, no taking chances! Right Suzu?" His replies were lazy twittering, and I could guess the bird was scolding me as well._

_I nodded glumly as we turned a corner. I was already aware of all these rather obvious information and being reprimanded again and again… My frown deepened and I suppressed the sick feeling of apprehension that threatened to show. Was I truly that unreliable? Would it have been better if I had not entered the exams?_

_Is it too late to quit?_

_"Sensei! What are you-?"_

_I looked up, and to my surprise Hikaru-sensei was standing there, leaning against the door to our destination._

_"Yo! Glad you guys could make it!" He cheered and with a whoop, opened a couple dozens of party poppers as confetti and party strings shot out at us. "I'm glad you guys aren't idiots!"_

_We stood there, dazed and covered in party decors. By now, even Suzumaru had even grown accustomed to sensei's rather eccentric ways._

_"Seriously sensei. What the hell are you doing here?" Makoto deadpanned, not amused._

_We sighed, waiting through the waterworks as sensei blubbered on and on about the delicate state of one's soul and other blah blah blah._

_Five minutes went by and I was feeling very grateful that no one else noticed the genjutsu from before, as I sure wasn't in the mood to explain this situation to any other random passerby._

_Another three minutes and he finally perked up._

_"Ahh! That was a good cry!" Sensei sighed blissfully. He glanced back at us and I willed myself to at least look confident rather than my present downcast mood. He heaved a sigh. "Oh, right! Ahem! Okay, so I'm going to tell you all that I know about the exams. Well, the first test is going to be a physical, and-."_

_I gasped. "!!!"_

_"What? Ph-Phy-Physi-?!" I spluttered, horrified. "And you can't just blab about these things! What are you-?"_

_He winked._

_I paused, and let out a giggle. Past hesitation was now gone as I scolded myself for my naiveté. "Not funny, sensei."_

_"I was just checking to see how you guys were doing so far. I'm glad Kaori-chan's fine now!" He patted the closest head he could reach, which was Makoto's who wasn't really comfortable with it._

_"I know you guys won't disappoint me." He said, now that he was in mature mode again. "I'm proud to have you guys as my subordinates." He made a motion to wipe a tear comically, and stepped aside, giving us the okay to pass through the doors. "Alright guys, I'm done messing with you. Now get your Chuunin-wannabe butts in there!"_

_Tsubasa gave him a quick salute and pushed against the doors forcefully, holding them open for us. I waved at sensei one last time as he cried out his own tearful dismissal._

_The door finally closed and our gaze flitted from face to face in the packed room. I fought to keep my jaw in tact and away from any possibilities of making contact with the floor. There were a lot of…_

_People._

_After I finished scanning the room and the majority of my fears, my gaze landed on the colorful assortment of familiar ninjas that were huddled around some glasses guy._

_As we strolled closer to the groupie, a series of gasps erupted from them. "He returned from a B-rank mission unharmed?" Shikamaru had repeated, taking no notice of us, as he stood there baffled._

_Tsubasa quirked a brow, and peered over the group, interested. "Who did?"_

_A number of the group dismissed their shock as they acknowledged our arrival._

_"Yahoo! Kaori's here! Guess our rookie count went from nine to twelve, eh?" Kiba cheered. He stared at me for a few seconds and another grin appeared as he reached for my head. "Oi, you. Why do you have confetti in your hair?"_

_"Eh?" I blinked in surprise when he pulled a few colorful pieces out of my hair. My heart throbbed painfully at the friendly gesture but I made a smile. "Oh, it's nothing, Kiba-san. Thank you." __I finally made up with Kiba. I had been genuinely surprised at how absolutely infuriated he really was at me for avoiding him, but I finally made it up to him and he gradually got over it. Although we don't spar much these days, we were friends again._

I'm happy...

_During this exchange, Ino quickly glided over to Tsubasa after loosening her hold on Sasuke to squeal over his arrival. Despite her loyalty to Sasuke, she and Tsubasa would sometimes flirt for fun (maybe another ploy to get Sasuke jealous?) as both seemed to be skilled and would get a good kick at it. Makoto herself would simply offer a nod to every greeting that she was given. Shikamaru grumbled about how troublesome the whole thing was altogether._

_The others simply disregarded our appearance as they diverted their attention back to the megane. The megane, or Yakushi Kabuto-san, as he established, calmly explained pretty much all that had happened during the time when we weren't here._

_"Heh, so who is this unbelievable rookie? If Sasuke-kun's so interested, then I might as well see for myself." Tsubasa smirked at the Uchiha, getting a mirror response as they gave a silent challenge of their manly manliness and all that ridiculous blah (worsening more when Naruto tried to intervene) our Toriwa slid through the crowd to get a closer look at the cards and I looked as well._

_Sabaku no Gaara._

_Flashback over:_

I concentrated on the questions once more as one thought pierced my mind._ 'Sabaku no Gaara-san was it…'_ I looked to my left and faked a smile when making eye contact. He glared and I quickly looked away, choosing to instead copy on the problems once more.

Quite a few happened since then. Naruto idiotically taunted the whole room (resulting in divine retribution soon after from Sakura), some Sound ninjas attacked Kabuto-san, and while I healed him, Makoto fixed his glasses with some other time jutsu, and he seemed to observe both with interest. Giving Makoto-chan bad vibes. (_Why?)_ The inspectors also appeared, gave our seats, and proceeded to the first trial.

A written test.

Damn.

I suppressed another groan. I thought I was done with these when I graduated the academy. And this test was impossibly difficult to be for a genin. I could only answer one of the problems on my own, and those questions were health based. How was I supposed to pass the exams if I can't even finish the first stage?

I had one of the special perfume balls from my slashers clenched in my hands in a desperate attempt to let out the stress.

_'I need to concentrate.'_

I looked at my clenched fist and smiled. '_Good idea…'_

I imagined both the fresh floral scent of bergamot and mild, spicy basil in my mind while sending small chakra signals into the perfume mass. Hoping a bit of aromatherapy would help ease my mind to come up with an effective solution. Almost immediately the combination of herb and citrus fruit was stimulating my mental clarity and helping me to concentrate.

'_Much better.'_ I sighed. I was more relaxed and more able to tolerate both the test and the seating arrangement, which wasn't so lovely either.

In fact, they were terrible. I was the last of this row, and my only desk partner was-

"The optic nerves are connected…" He muttered in a raspy voice, as he held two fingers against his left eye. "Open the third eye."

Gaara of the sand.

From the corner of my eyes, I saw an eyeball forming in his open palm. Its pupils dilated and exploded in a small spray of sand when he clenched his hand.

Eww.

I shuddered.

I have to watch out for that guy.

I looked around lazily, hoping for an inspiration when I found that same orb hovering over a student's test as he rubbed his own irritated eyes. I looked over at that Gaara, and I saw his left lid still covered.

When he started writing, my eyes widened as realization hit me.

Oh my god, I see now!

It's all making sense… The insane test questions, the examiners, the rules, the system, everything! The point of the test wasn't our knowledge of physics and all that, but our data-gathering abilities. I looked around once more, and I confirmed it. I had thirty-five minutes to cheat so I had to make this fast.

I frowned. I couldn't help but feel displeased.

I hate cheating.

I shook my head. _'NO. You've got to pass. They need me to pass. It's not cheating if that's what you're graded on doing.'_ I scolded.

But _still..._

I paused when I heard birds chirping from outside, four rows down was Tsubasa, he was nodding and scribbling down answers as he hummed a peculiar melody to himself. The window, the birds... Ahh, I see.

Tsubasa-kun was humming to enchant the birds into giving the answers they saw. I remembered this when he demonstrated the technique before. It was a Toriwa family technique, and when sung correctly by a member, any feathered creature in earshot would have an increased brain function and be able to think more abstractly- much like a human, until the song stops. This would be enough for them to decode his message and give him the answers from their view.

I looked behind me towards Makoto, pretending to look at the clock that coincidentally hung on the wall directly above her. I let out another sigh of relief, when I noticed a flash from her Bunsegan eyes. Of course she knew the principles too. What was I so worried about?

She probably used some sort of genjutsu to slow down the reactions of the examiner assigned to her row (giving the other students a break as well). She was gazing intently at a student who was sitting near her and was probably using her eyes to see through the grass ninja's next move while speeding her own time as she predicted every stroke, pause, and order. She smirked, scrawling it all down.

I smiled. I could feel a glow of pride radiating towards my teammates. They would definitely make fine Chuunins if- no, _when_ they pass! If they can do it fine, then I have to catch up to them. I can't drag them down into failure! I have to suck it up.

But…

How exactly am I supposed to do that?

I suppressed a groan, and bit the second knuckle of my forefinger as I aggregated through every idea I could think of.

_'I need more basil. More bergamot. I need to CONCENTRATE_.'

None of my abilities could be used for information gathering. I should've known it would be one of the criteria! This is a test for ninjas, not little schoolgirls!

Just what am I supposed to do? Explode the paper? Heal a smart student for answers? Or what? Channel chakra through the desk and feel whenever some idiot's pencil makes contact through the paper and onto the stupid thing?

Pause.

…

_Hmmmmmmmmm…_

I spared a moment to thank my lucky star as lay my open palm flat against the desk. '_This could work. This could actually work!'_ After making sure that I didn't look suspicious (how could I? According to them, I looked like every other scared, bambi-eyed test taker) and channeled a thin ribbon of chakra through the desk and right under the paper of the closest person with the answer.

I prayed that he didn't notice- that Sabaku no Gaara person. He looks like he could kill anyone without having any qualms against it. Like I said before, I should watch out for him.

I refocused my attention back to my task as I willed the chakra ribbon to swell and spread until it roughly covered the surface area of the sheet. With that done, all that was left to do was concentrate and decipher the markings. I closed my eyes and focused my senses.

_Tap tap, tap, scribble..._

I smiled, and copied the movements.

_Tap tap, scribble, tap, scrawl, etc._

I wrote again and peeked open an eye and brought my paper even closer to my face when I realized the writings had made sense. It worked! With that, I continued. Onward to question seven!

_Scratch, scratch, tap, pause, tap, erase, scrawl._

Next question. I nodded. So far so good, at this rate I was going to pass the first stage. I felt a sense of tranquility tingle through my tense nerves as I relaxed.

Yes, Makoto-chan and Tsubasa-kun, were going to pass, I wasn't going to fail them. I would have killed myself if I had stolen this opportunity from them. I love them too much. I was practically glowing with the relief and adoration.

_Scritch, scritch, tap, pause, tap, erase, scrawl. Pause._

I sat there, patiently waiting for the markings to continue when I realized they weren't coming.

Startled, I opened my eyes only to catch the icy stare of the sand ninja. I gasped slightly but found I couldn't look away.

I could hear nothing but my own heart beating furiously as I tried to comprehend why this Gaara of the sand, who had accomplished several B-rank missions unscathed, was glaring so fiercely at me. I cringed, but couldn't tear my eyes away from the intensity of detest in his stare. My breathing shallowed as I sat frozen in place.

He narrowed his eyes one last time and did… nothing. He simply turned back to the assessment, ignoring me.

I inhaled warily, having accepted this lucky slip of fate. I resorted back to my previous task hesitantly. I definitely didn't want to continue but I had to keep stealing answers off of him if I wanted to pass. He… didn't seem to mind so much now. Even if he did, he was only a genin.

What's the worst he could do?

I figured I might as well get as much done till then-- even though he had no real reason to really kill me as far as I could see. After all I'm just doing what I'm supposed to do. He shouldn't have even noticed in the first place.

I prayed to my star again, saying my mantra. '_This is for Tsubasa-kun and Makoto-chan. Tsubasa and Makoto. Tsubasa and Makoto. Tsubasa and Makoto…'_

I exhaled. Sabaku no Gaara. Just what is he?

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**Yep yep. That's numero thirteen y'all. Sorry it took so long… a full year, yepp. I had the shittiest block to go over, and I got lazy- again. But non non! Those ah merely excuseez! Tsk tsk.**

**Oh yeah, I also want to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIBA!! Yep yep July seventh is that lucky day! Hehe, of all the days to post too! I so didn't plan this! Heehee. Celebrate if you can! **

**Well, you know the deal. If you like, review. If you hate, PM me. And so on and so forth. If you're a new reader, then thanks for trying it out! I hope you liked it! Please don't be afraid to give suggestions either! And if you didn't read my prof. Then I NEED A TITLE SUGGESTION!!**

**And I'm done with that! So yeah, happy Kiba day guys!**


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